person:nitzan alon

  • Palestinians aim to win back right to appeal property confiscations in military court
    Palestinians could appeal confiscations in West Bank military courts until last month, when the Israeli army changed its stance.
    17th of January 2013
    Haaretz
    http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.569059

    Adalah, an advocacy group for Arab minority rights, wants to overturn the military order barring West Bank Palestinians from appealing the confiscation of their property in a military court.

    The order was signed on December 25 by the head of the military’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon.

    The order “is designed to harm the Palestinians and restrict their rights, without any legitimate justification,” Adalah wrote to the attorney general, defense minister and Alon. If the order is not revoked, the group will appeal to the Supreme Court, Adalah said.

    The military commander in the West Bank is authorized to confiscate property or money implicated in illegal or security-related activity. This clause lets the military and police seize funds believed to belong to terror groups. The authorities can also confiscate vehicles used to illegally transport laborers and equipment into Israel.

    Until December 25, Palestinians could appeal confiscations in West Bank military courts, which were authorized to consider such issues based on a 2010 decision by the Military Court of Appeals. In that decision, the court ordered the return of a pneumatic drill to a Palestinian after the police had confiscated it.

    Adalah wrote that the order issued last month infringes on property rights and violates international human rights and international humanitarian law.

    It said the order also violates Israeli administrative law and international law, which have been recognized in the occupied territories by several Supreme Court decisions. These principles have also been recognized by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, in its advisory opinion on the separation barrier, Adalah said.