Levy Report: Difference between revisions
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The report, while recommending the legalization of illegal outposts, is critical of government policies that allowed their establishment, stating “we wish to stress that the picture that has been displayed before us regarding Israeli settlement activity in Judea and Samaria does not befit the behavior of a state that prides itself on, and is committed to, the rule of law”.<ref name="JP276802"/> |
The report, while recommending the legalization of illegal outposts, is critical of government policies that allowed their establishment, stating “we wish to stress that the picture that has been displayed before us regarding Israeli settlement activity in Judea and Samaria does not befit the behavior of a state that prides itself on, and is committed to, the rule of law”.<ref name="JP276802"/> |
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The report notes that unauthorized Jewish building, including some 100 outposts built from 1991 to 2005, had occurred with the help of government offices and ministries, adding that the involvement of government offices and ministries in such activity means that “such conduct is to be seen as implied agreement.” |
The report notes that unauthorized Jewish building, including some 100 outposts built from 1991 to 2005, had occurred with the help of government offices and ministries, adding that the involvement of government offices and ministries in such activity means that “such conduct is to be seen as implied agreement.” |
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The committee asks the government to |
The committee asks the government to clarify its policy on West Bank Jewish building, ensuring that all future settlement construction have the proper authorizations and permits “in accordance with the law”, and issues a series of recommendations to retroactively legalize construction.<ref name="JP276749"/> |
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The report calls on the government to allow planning and zoning authorities to complete the authorization process for outposts and unauthorized settler building on state land without any further need for additional political approval, saying that “pending completion of these proceedings and examination of the possibility of granting building permits, the state is advised to avoid carrying out demolition orders, since it brought about the present situation by itself” and suggests that settlements built on land whose status is unclear should be considered “settlements whose legal status is pending”.<ref name="JP276749"/> |
The report calls on the government to allow planning and zoning authorities to complete the authorization process for outposts and unauthorized settler building on state land without any further need for additional political approval, saying that “pending completion of these proceedings and examination of the possibility of granting building permits, the state is advised to avoid carrying out demolition orders, since it brought about the present situation by itself” and suggests that settlements built on land whose status is unclear should be considered “settlements whose legal status is pending”.<ref name="JP276749"/> |
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Revision as of 10:13, 11 July 2012
The Levy Report is a 89 page report on West Bank settlements published by the Israeli government on 9 July 2012, authored by a three member committee headed by former Israeli Supreme Court justice Edmund Levy. The committee, dubbed the “outpost committee”, was appointed by Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in late January 2012 to investigate the legal status of unauthorized West Bank Jewish settlements,[1] but also examined whether the Israeli presence in the West Bank is to be considered an occupation or not.[2] The report comes to the conclusion that Israel's presence in the West Bank is not occupation,[3] and that the Israeli settlements are legal under international law,[4] and recommends state approval for unauthorized Jewish settlement outposts.[3]
The committee
The three members of the committee are former Israeli Supreme Court justice Edmund Levy, former Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker and former deputy president of the Tel Aviv District Court Tchia Shapira. According to Haaretz, the “members were meticulously chosen”: Levy had opposed the 2005 unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip, Baker's professional positions are widely supported by the political right, and Shapira is a sister-in-law of right-wing ideologue Israel Harel.[2]
Background
The Levy committee was appointed as an advisory committee by the Israeli cabinet in late January 2012, following pressure by settlement leaders,[5] to examine the legal aspects of land ownership in the West Bank and to review the 2005 government report known as the Sasson Report which had found that several dozen outposts were built without state approval and on privately owned Palestinian land. The report's objectivity was questioned after its author, former state prosecutor Talia Sasson, entered politics.[6] However, the committee also examined whether the Israeli presence in the West Bank is an “occupation” or not.[2]
Findings
The report states that the classical laws of occupation “as set out in the relevant international conventions cannot be considered applicable to the unique and sui generis historic and legal circumstances of Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria spanning over decades”, and that the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention against the transfer of populations is not applicable to the Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, concluding: “Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of settlements cannot, in and of itself, be considered illegal”.[1]
The report, while recommending the legalization of illegal outposts, is critical of government policies that allowed their establishment, stating “we wish to stress that the picture that has been displayed before us regarding Israeli settlement activity in Judea and Samaria does not befit the behavior of a state that prides itself on, and is committed to, the rule of law”.[4] The report notes that unauthorized Jewish building, including some 100 outposts built from 1991 to 2005, had occurred with the help of government offices and ministries, adding that the involvement of government offices and ministries in such activity means that “such conduct is to be seen as implied agreement.” The committee asks the government to clarify its policy on West Bank Jewish building, ensuring that all future settlement construction have the proper authorizations and permits “in accordance with the law”, and issues a series of recommendations to retroactively legalize construction.[1]
The report calls on the government to allow planning and zoning authorities to complete the authorization process for outposts and unauthorized settler building on state land without any further need for additional political approval, saying that “pending completion of these proceedings and examination of the possibility of granting building permits, the state is advised to avoid carrying out demolition orders, since it brought about the present situation by itself” and suggests that settlements built on land whose status is unclear should be considered “settlements whose legal status is pending”.[1]
The report recommends the establishment of a new court to adjudicate land disputes in the West Bank. Barring that, it suggested that the jurisdiction of district court judges be expanded to allow them to handle these disputes. These new judicial tribunal should settle the land disputes, including issues of Jewish construction on private Palestinian property, before petitions for eviction and demolitions are determined, stating that “pending such determination, state authorities should be instructed to avoid taking any positions in land conflicts and carrying out irreversible measures, such as eviction or demolition of buildings on the property”.[1]
In addition to that, the report gives other guidelines for settlement construction, including: Only the government or an empowered ministerial committee should establish new settlements, and settlements should only be extended beyond their boundary or jurisdiction with the defense minister’s approval, and the prime minister being notified. Construction within the bounds of an existing or future settlement should only need authorization from the planning and zoning authorities and not need government or ministerial approval. There should be no prohibition on settler construction within the bounds of a settlement built on land seized by a military order. Israelis should be able to directly purchase land in the West Bank, and the procedures to register that land should be accelerated and completed within a reasonable time period, and the public should have the right to see data with regard to land rights in the West Bank.[1]
Reactions
The report was published by the Israeli government on 9 July 2012,[7] after it was handed to prime minister Netanyahu in June 2012 and given to members of the Ministerial Committee on Settlements on 8 July 2012.[1] The publication of the report came just days before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to visit the region.[8]
The American Administration disagrees with the findings of the report. As a spokesperson from the State Department said on the day the report was published: “Obviously, we've seen the reports that an Israeli Government appointed panel has recommended legalizing dozens of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but we do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity and we oppose any effort to legalize settlement outposts... We’re concerned about it, obviously”.[8]
Prime minister Netanyahu praised the report, saying: “In my opinion, this report is important because it deals with the legalization and the legitimization of the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria on the basis of facts, a variety of facts and arguments that should be seriously considered”, adding that the Ministerial Committee on Settlements would debate and decide the matter.[7]
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said he welcomes the report, and hopes the cabinet approves it, adding that “it’s not perfect, but it’s an important step.”
Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan said he “will work to ensure the government adopts the report’s conclusion and give a clear future and stability for tens of thousands of families after dozens of years,” adding “finally, legal and historic justice has been done, following the twister political stances based on the Meretz activist Talia Sasson’s report.”
Interior Minister Eli Yishai praised the report, saying “the time has come to fix the injustice of the Talia Sasson Report and say openly that settlements in Judea and Samaria do not contradict the law, and complement the spirit of Zionism and Judaism.”
Science and Technology Minister Daniel Herschkowitz called on Netanyahu to immediately convene the Ministerial Committee on Settlements to adopt the report, which “proves the Sasson report was political from the start to the end”.
Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein said “as a resident of a settlement in Judea and Samaria and the public diplomacy minister who fights to express the natural right to settle [there] and not apologize for it, I welcome the committee’s findings”.
Yesha settlement council chairman Dani Dayan praised the report, saying “it is clear that deep, basic and serious legal work was done. Compared to the Talia Sasson report, this time we're talking about impartial, first rate jurists” and called for the implementation of its recommendations.
Likud MK Danny Danon welcomed the report, calling it “a gift for communities in Judea and Samaria” and urged the prime minister to act upon the report and to encourage more communities to develop in the West Bank, adding “the report will remove any leftist radicalism from previous court ruling on the outposts and bury once and for all the alarming report previously submitted by attorney Talia Sasson”.
National Union MK Arieh Eldad said the report “smashes into pieces the mantra of ‘occupation’ as far as international law is concerned” and called for an end to the “Muslim occupation of the Land of Israel that began 1300 years ago.”
Former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni said that “it is possible and necessary to use the Levy Report for matters of international law, while considering the current reality and continue negotiations on settlement blocs,” stating that the future of settlements is a diplomatic matter, not a legal one, and should be based on the possibility of a future peace agreement.
Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On slammed the report, saying that the committee was formed only to “justify the vermin of illegal outposts after the High Court and the Attorney-General were not good enough for Netanyahu”, adding “efforts to create a virtual reality will not help Netanyahu. Settlements are not legal, and neither are outposts”.
Peace Now director-general Yariv Oppenheimer slammed the composition, findings and recommendations of the committee, saying that “no jurist in the world would refer to this political manifesto as a serious report”, adding “the conclusion that there is no occupation proves that the committee members are living in continuous denial”.
Yesh Din attorney Michael Sfard called the report “not a legal report but an ideological report that ignores basic principles of the rule of law” which was “born in sin” in order to authorize crime and that it fully fulfilled its task, adding “it seems as though the committee members fell down the rabbit hole, and their report was written in Wonderland where the law of the absurd rules - there is no occupation, no illegal outposts, and seemingly no Palestinian state. It must be said in the language of Alice [in Wonderland]: This is the most stupid tea party I've seen in my life”.[4]
According to David Kretzmer, a Professor of International Law, accepting the Levy report and its conclusion that the West Bank is not under occupation will mean that the Israeli government, no longer able to argue that the territory is subject to a temporary regime of belligerent occupation, will either have to acknowledge that there is a system with elements of apartheid in the West Bank, or it will have to extend political rights to all Palestinian residents of the West Bank.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Tovah Lazaroff (9 July 2012). "Legal report on outposts recommends authorization". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ a b c Chaim Levinson (9 July 2012). "While Israeli settlers celebrate Levy report, Netanyahu will have to deal with semantics of occupation". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ a b Isabel Kershner (9 July 2012). "Validate Settlements, Israeli Panel Suggests". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ a b c Lahav Harkov (9 July 2012). "PM to decide on Levy report with settlement c'tee". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ Chaim Levinson, Tomer Zarchin (9 July 2012). "Netanyahu-appointed panel: Israel isn't an occupying force in West Bank". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ Natasha Mozgovaya (31 January 2012). "U.S. criticizes Israel plan to subsidize West Bank settlement construction". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ a b Tovah Lazaroff (10 July 2012). "US voices opposition to legalization of outposts". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ a b Yitzhak Benhorin (10 July 2012). "US displeased with Levy Report". Ynetnews. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ David Kretzmer (10 July 2012). "Bombshell for the settlement enterprise in Levy report". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 July 2012.