Summer 2024 Newsletter

Despite the extremely difficult challenges and immense political repression that have characterized the last eight months, we at the Human Rights Defenders Fund are very proud of all that we have been able to accomplish during this trying period.

In the wake of October 7th and the aftermath, our legal caseload has doubled, and the demand for our capacity-building trainings has nearly tripled. Since October 7th, we have provided 33 capacity-building trainings to nearly 700 members of the human rights community – 25 of these have been “freedom of expression” trainings to help HRDs better navigate the sweeping crackdown on political dissent under the Anti-Terror Laws (under which hundreds have been arrested and indicted thus far, specifically targeting Palestinian citizens of Israel).

We applaud our fellow human rights defenders between the river and the sea who have refused to back down from the fight for justice and freedom for all, despite immense police brutality, routine settler and military violence in service of ethnic cleansing, torture and abuse during detention, and a complete failure on the part of the Israeli state to comply with international norms of human rights. Our mandate at HRDF has always been the same, to “defend the defenders,” and in the last several months we have achieved several critical legal victories that have enabled us to ensure the greater safety and security of the human rights community on both sides of the Green Line.

Legal Victories and Highlights

Acquittal of Muhammad Rabaei and Curbing Ordinance 33

On May 27, 2024, we secured the full acquittal of Muhammad Rabaei, the head of the local council of A-Tuwani, who had been indicted under military law on “obstructing a soldier” during an incident in January 2024 in which he attempted to intervene and protect local shepherds who were being harassed by extremist settlers from the nearby illegal unauthorized outpost of Havat Maon.

Rabaei was arrested in January under Ordinance 33 of the military code, which had been applied illegally since October 7th as an indiscriminate basis for arrest of Palestinians under military law in the West Bank. Ordinance 33 stipulates that those arrested in combat zones of IDF operational activity may be detained for up to 8 days (192 hours) before being brought before a military court judge. However, between October 2023 and May 2024, this ordinance was broadly applied as the basis to arrest all Palestinians and detain them for eight days, whether they are arrested inside a combat zone or not. This ordinance was deployed repeatedly to arrest Palestinian residents in villages resisting expulsion in Area C, in clear service of the agenda of ethnic cleansing of the area. Normally, West Bank Palestinians are arrested under Ordinance 31 of the military code, which determines that Palestinians may be held up to 96 hours before being brought before a military court for a detention hearing. (This is in stark contrast to the detentions of Israelis and internationals arrested in the West Bank who, under Israeli law, must be brought before a judge within 24 hours of their initial arrest – only further highlighting the reality of apartheid in separate and unequal legal systems). Unlike Military Ordinance 31, however, Ordinance 33 cannot be appealed under military law, and so there was no legal recourse inside military courts to challenge the illegal application of this ordinance.

Following Rabaei’s arrest, HRDF petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court, along with co-petitioners ACRI and HaMoked, to halt the illegal and indiscriminate use of Ordinance 33, citing six incidents of arrests for which HRDF rendered legal aid, of 16 Palestinians (which included 6 children/minors and 9 shepherds arrested during shepherding) detained illegally under the Ordinance. Although this petition is still in legal proceedings, the pressure that this petition enacted on Israeli courts, coupled with public media and advocacy efforts around this issue, has meant that in the last two months we have seen the use of this ordinance greatly diminish, and at HRDF we have not encountered a case of an HRD arrested under Ordinance 33 since May.

During a time in which state authorities are using every legal and extralegal mechanism at their disposal to detain, criminalize, and abuse Palestinian communities and human rights defenders, both Rabaei’s acquittal and the effective halting of the illegal use of Ordinance 33 represent critical achievements in the fight to protect human rights defenders from excessive state overreach and carceral violence, especially under occupation. This achievement was made possible only by the tireless expert legal work of HRDF-funded attorneys Adv. Michal Pomeranz and Adv. Riham Nassra.

It is however important to note that although the illegal use of Ordinance 33 has diminished significantly, police are continuing to request extensions of detention of up to 8 days for Palestinian HRDs arrested under Ordinance 31. In June 2024, HRDF represented two cases of 4 Palestinians arrested and detained during shepherding and land-defending activities in two areas of the Jordan Valley, in which police requested an 8-day extension of detention. In both cases, HRDF-funded attorney Riham Nassra was able to secure their early releases from detention (in the first case a day after the arrest, and in the second case within three days), in large part due to the thorough witness testimonies provided by Israeli HRDs who were present during the incidents. (The successes in achieving early releases from detention despite punitive police requests for detention extension here also underscore the crucial importance of Israeli protective presence in these kinds of incidents, which compel the military courts to treat these cases with much more careful consideration).

Our Supreme Court petition against Ordinance 33 is still ongoing and yet to be heard before a judicial panel, and although the practice of using it indiscriminately has curbed, we are still aiming to argue that it be stricken completely from the Military Code, or, at least, that it be modified so that it may be appealed, so that there is some legal recourse available should it once again come into practice. HRDF recently reported this issue in a submission to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as part and parcel of sweeping practices of incarceration since October 7th through legal and extralegal mechanisms, which can be read here. We ask diplomats present on the ground to pressure COGAT and Israeli authorities to completely halt the use of Ordinance 33 and remove it from Military Law, as per our petition.

Arrest of Muhammad Rabaei in January 2024, after he attempted to intervene between settlers harassing local shepherds. After his arrest, he was held in military detention for 8 days under Ordinance 33. Credit: Yonatan Rotem

Victory in SLAPP suit, Shay Glick v. Ketty Bar

In April, we announced a legal victory in the politically-motivated SLAPP suit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) of Shay Glick against Ketty Bar, which also required Glick to financially compensate Bar personally and for legal fees accrued during the course of the trial.

Immediately after the verdict, Glick appealed the decision. However, the District Court dismissed the appeal off hand, and refused to re-try the case. The complete dismissal of this litigious appeal is in itself another important success in the fight against shrinking civic space, especially in a country where there are no rules or regulations in place to prevent the filing of politically-motivated SLAPP suits such as this one (as there are, for instance, in the United Kingdom).

Desirable Settlement in SLAPP suit Sherman v. B’tselem, Zehava Galon, the late Yossi Gurvitz, Dean Issacharoff, and Yariv Oppenheimer

In May 2024 we achieved an extremely desirable settlement in the SLAPP suit brought on by settler Yeshoua Sherman against the anti-occupation organization B’tselem, former Meretz MK and Haaretz columnist Zehava Galon, journalist Yossi Gurvitz (z”l), former spokesperson of Breaking the Silence Dean Issacharoff, and former Peace Now director Yariv Oppenheimer, in which none of the parties are required to pay any financial compensation to the plaintiff, who initially demanded 500,000 NIS in damages in the lawsuit.

The background to the lawsuit began in April 2019, when B’tselem published an investigation of an extralegal execution in which settler Yeshoa Sherman shot Palestinian Muhammad ‘Abd al-Fatah for throwing stones at his car, and then once he was lying injured on the ground proceeded to continue shooting ‘Abd al-Fatah several more times until death. Following the publication of the investigation, Sherman sued B’tselem and the four individuals for libel. Gurvitz (z”l) wrote about the incident on his blog, Issacharoff published an opinion piece in Haaretz on the incident, and Galon and Oppenheimer both retweeted a Channel 13 article on the incident and quoted the B’tselem report in their caption – all were held equally liable in the lawsuit brought on by Sherman, despite not writing the report themselves. (HRDF-funded attorney Adv. Ishay Shneidor represented the four individuals, while B’tselem funded their own legal representation by Adv. Michael Sfard).

The settlement reached this past May stipulates only that B’tselem must change the wording of the title of their report to clarify that the findings are the result of B’tselem’s own organizational investigation, and to add a clarifying text to the report that explains that their investigation stands in contradiction to the findings of the Prosecutor’s Office. None of the individual defendants are required to pay any financial sum to the plaintiff. This is an extremely successful outcome in the fight against shrinking civic space, especially during a time when anti-occupation organizations and activists are under constant threat while conducting research and working to expose human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Desirable Settlement in Elad SLAPP Suit against CSOs and Activists

In June 2024 we achieved a desirable settlement in the SLAPP suit brought on by right-wing settler organization “Elad” (a.k.a. Ir David Foundation, a group committed to the “Judaization” of East Jerusalem and instrumental to the Palestinian expulsion and settler takeover of the Silwan neighborhood), against the CSOs Emek Shaveh, Ir Amim, and Mehazkim, as well as threeindividual activists. (HRDF-funded lawyer Adv. Carmel Pomerantz represented three of the individuals, and the three CSOs funded their own representation).

Elad filed the suit against the three CSOs and three activists in September 2022, alleging defamation following their public media campaign attempting to expose Elad’s activities dispossessing Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem. In total, Elad’s suit demanded compensation of over two million shekels total. You can read about the background details of this case here.

In the settlement closed this June, none of the activists or organizations will be obligated to pay any financial compensation to Elad in damages (except for Emek Shaveh, who will pay partial compensation of Elad’s legal fees), on the condition that two of the individuals and all of the CSOs post a clarifying statement regarding the initial terminology in question used to describe Elad’s activities.

We are very proud of the results of this case, which was closed with zero financial burden on the HRDs working against the activities of the Elad settler organization, and minimal restrictions to their work.

Other Updates and On-the-Ground Developments

Deportations and Harassment of International Activists

Since October 7th, we have seen a shift in the way Israeli state authorities treat international activists arrested during activities of “protective presence” of Palestinian communities in Area C – notably, authorities are more routinely deporting international activists, whereas previously this might have been threatened but was far less frequently acted upon.

Between October and June, HRDF has provided legal aid in three cases of international activists who were ultimately deported due to their activities.

1. On November 22, 2023, Belgian activist Alison Russel was arrested while documenting demolitions in the South Hebron Hills, and interrogated on suspicions of “supporting and identifying with a terrorist organization,” damaging state symbols, and “obstructing a public servant”. Her detention was extended the following day by three days, and when HRDF-funded attorney Karin Torn Hibler filed an appeal of this detention, the police announced their decision to deport Russel immediately, and she was deported that same evening.

2. On April 8th, 2024, two activists, Rory James Biggs Omay (from England) and Margot Grillo (from France) were arrested by soldiers while escorting shepherds in the South Hebron Hills on the charge that they had photographed the nearby settlement. The soldiers then maintained that they had already notified the activists of their presence in a closed military area, though they never presented any official order and/or map. They were interrogated on suspicion of entering a closed military area and obstructing a public servant, and were held in detention overnight. The following morning, they were brought to the Population and Immigration Authority in Ramla for a pre-deportation hearing, where authorities decided to deport both activists. They left the country the following day.

The deportation of international activists in the wake of October 7th is part and parcel of a broader national rhetoric within Israel to “remove foreign influence” on Israeli domestic affairs (this can also be seen in the many legislative attempts to tax foreign funding of human rights organization over the past several years). In reality, this kind of rhetoric and policy operates only to demolish any forms of international solidarity and support of Palestinian communities under threat, and serves the broader project of ethnic cleansing in the area.

Legal Cases involving Extremist Settlers Listed in International Sanctions

Zvi Bar Yosef v. Kerem Navot

Zvi Bar Yosef is the founder of an illegal unauthorized outpost known as “Zvi’s Farm” near the settlement of Halamish, and is well-known for violently harassing local Palestinians in the surrounding area. He was recently listed on the “sanctions lists” of both the United States and the United Kingdom as a leading perpetrator of settler violence in the West Bank.

In 2020, Bar Yosef sued the land-policy research organization Kerem Navot (which monitors land policy human rights violations in the West Bank and tracks settlement expansion and land theft) for libel, after they described him as “violent” in a Facebook post reporting on the activities of his farm and land theft activities. The suit also claimed that Kerem Navot’s publishing of blurred images of Bar Yosef’s wife and daughter in their reporting on land expropriation constituted a “violation of privacy.” Bar Yosef’s role in the consistent harassment and targeting of local Palestinians has been well documented by human rights organizations as well as in Israeli public media, and he has had dozens of police complaints lodged against him and residents of his outpost. (For details on the trial and background of the case, read our update on the case last year).

In May 2024, a judge ruled that Kerem Navot was liable for defamation (though not for violation of privacy), ruling that the organization must compensate Bar Yosef a total of 40,000 NIS for damages and legal fees. We plan to appeal this decision.

Zvi Bar Yosef “patrolling” the area outside of his illegal unauthorized outpost, strapped with an M16 rifle. Credit: SK

The State v. Einan Tanjil

The criminal case against Einan Tanjil – the 21-year old who violently attacked a group of Palestinians and Israelis in November 2021 during the olive harvest (in collaboration with other settlers), causing severe bodily harm to twoHRDs – came to a close in June 2024, with the judge handing down a six-month “prison” sentence which in practice will be served as mandatory community service, financial compensation of 12,000 NIS total to the victims, as well as a conditional prison sentence of three years if he is convicted of a similar offense during the six-month period of his sentence.

In November 2021, Tanjil was indicted on three counts of aggravated assault to cause injury, after attacking Neta Ben Porat, Arik Ascherman, and Gil Hammershlag with an iron pipe during an olive harvest in Surif, causing Ben Porat a skull fracture requiring hospitalization. In August of 2022, the prosecution announced that they would sign a plea bargain with Tanjil, reducing the charges against him to two counts of assault against Ben Porat and Ascherman. HRDF-funded attorney Riham Nassra, who provided the HRDs with legal counsel as felony victims, submitted a letter to the Prosecutor’s Office objecting to the plea bargain due to the abundance of evidence documenting the crime and the ideological and racially-motivated nature of the assault. We at HRDF, as well as the victims in the case, find the sentence delivered by the judge in June to be wholly inadequate considering the nature of Tanjil’s crime. While on the whole we are in principle committed to the concept of “reparative justice” rather than incarceration, we recognize that Palestinians are currently being held in torturous prison conditions for far less, and we object to the deep explicit bias in the Israeli legal system which rarely if ever prosecutes settler violence. (According to statistics from cases monitored by Yesh Din, only 3% of investigation into ideologically-motivated offenses by Israelis against Palestinians in the West Bank result in full or partial convictions between 2005-2023, and 93.7% of investigation files into settler violence opened in 2023 were closed without any indictment).

In January 2024, Einan Tanjil was listed in U.S. President Biden’s Executive Order imparting sanctions against a handful of Israelis committing settler violence in the West Bank (see this New York Times article as well as +972 Magazine piece laying out the individuals named in this list). This is in part due to the heavily documented nature of the case, as well as various advocacy efforts conducted around the case – most notably, when Neta Ben Porat traveled to Geneva in March 2023 to testify before the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on her experience in the context of the broader phenomena of settler violence and expulsion of Palestinians from Area C. While Ben Porat has stated her belief that there are much more powerful individuals upholding the settlement enterprise who should have been named in the executive order rather than Tanjil (who is low hanging fruit and not even from a settlement himself), we hope that the effects of these sanctions will be more than symbolic. In a reality in which there is little to no accountability for such acts, we hope that these sanctions from the international community will actually create some sort of preventative effect dissuading settlers from committing such acts of violence in service of the broader project of ethnic cleansing.

Einan Tanjil (right), with a metal pipe in hand, attacking a group of activists including Neta Ben Porat (left, red backpack) in Surif, November 2021. Credit: SK

Human rights defenders stand at the frontlines of the fight to preserve basic freedoms and rights for all people between the river and the sea, and we reiterate our mission to provide them with expert legal protection and tools to continue their work in the face of all odds. We applaud those who resist and challenge the violence of Israeli state policies and practice, and we will continue to stand beside them as they defend human rights for all people, no matter the cost.

For questions or matters relating to HRDF’s work, please contact us at: [email protected]