"We are outraged by how the Palestinians suffer such destruction, and that the countries which should uphold international law don’t respect, for Palestine, the inalienable rights contained in international texts. We act on behalf of the individual’s right to pressure the international instances to implement measures to enforce peace but also the penalties for not applying the law and violate the requirements of the UN. We can not leave unpunished those who violate those rights."

Stephane Hessel, Ambassador of France and co-editor of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, honorary chairman of the Russell Tribunal for Palestine.

Six main topics were brought before the court

1) The principle of respect for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination

 Majdi Benchikh (Professor Emeritus at the University of Cergy-Pontoise ((Paris Val d’Oise)) former Dean of the Law Faculty of Algiers) Explained that the right to self-determination would probably have known success if major powers, including the EU, had not chosen to support Israel and guarantee its impunity.

 Daragh Murray (Ireland / Palestine- lawyer at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights) Stated that the right to self-determination is violated by Israel in a consistent way; as the occupation continues human rights are routinely violated.

2) The annexation of East Jerusalem

 Ghada Karmi (Author and physician) Explained the various facets of the annexation of the city through political and physical colonisation, as well as the Judaisation policies which limit the residency rights of Arab inhabitants. While it has recalled the law and repeatedly condemned those actions, the EU has never exercised any real pressure or sanctions against Israel and has never asked for compensation for the destruction of facilities that it financed but has strengthened its political, economic and scientific ties with that state, making themselves complicit in its violations of international law.

 Meir Margalit (Israel) Spoke as a witness and as a member of the council of Jerusalem and the Israeli Committee against house demolitions (ICAHD) for which a large part of the budget comes from the European Union. "We would like to renounce this money if the EU would adopt in return a more radical policy, more clear vis-à-vis Israel, we feel that this money is used to wash the European conscience”.

3) Settlements and the plundering of natural resources

 Michael Sfard (Israeli lawyer working in humanitarian law) Explained that there are 120 settlements in the West Bank. More than half of Jewish settlers moved into the West Bank after the Oslo agreements. Construction is one aspect of the development of settlements, but there is also the violence that the settlers exercise against Palestinians to continually reduce the boundaries of their land.

4) The European Union / Israel Association Agreement

 Raül Romeva, (MEP) Explained that the association agreements generally include three parts: a free trade zone, institutional cooperation and cooperation. They all have a "democratic" clause, which obliges signatories to cancel the agreement if one party considers that the other does not meet its obligations or respect the human rights under the agreements. Nobody has mentioned this clause so far, neither Israel nor any other country. He spoke on the code of conduct in terms of arms exports in the EU based on eight criteria of which Israel was guilty of violating at least six.

 Agnes Bertrand (Belgium, researcher and specialist in Middle East, APRODEV) Set out cases of passive complicity of the EU and Israel. She took the example of exports of settlement products in European markets but with certificate of Israeli origin. She continues by explaining that the member states of the EU and the EU know very well this is a problem but they do not want to react to it. These attitudes and silence can be attributed to the fact that European interests at stake. She ended by noting that the United States is the main actor and that EU policy is located in the interstices left by the U.S.

5) The blockade of Gaza and operation "Cast Lead"

The living conditions since the operation Cast Lead were recalled. The co-editor of the Goldstone report, Colonel Desmond Travers highlighted the use of certain weapons of war against the civilian population and the accompanying tolerance of the international community with these weapons. He articulated that white phosphorus, darts and heavy metal such as tungsten bullets and DIME (explosive mixture), should no longer be in a conventional arsenal and that producing countries have the responsibility to verify the use made by the belligerents of these toxic products.

6) The construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

 Luisa Morgantini (Italy, former MEP), recalled that Europe complains but does not apply any penalty and instead enhances its relations with Israel. Why then does this silence that discredits the EU exist? According to a jury member it is because the core of Europe is the economy and Israel is a kind of a European excrescence in the Middle East. This also clarifies the all too favourable attitude of Europe, explained François Dubuisson (Law Professor at the Free University of Brussels).

In October, the second court session Russell will be held in London. An appeal was launched for voluntary contributions to ensure the total independence of the court.

The full report, available in three languages, can be read here.

Palestine Monitor