After more than 20 years of legal proceedings, Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled yesterday (May 4) that the forcible transfer of hundreds of Palestinians from their homes and the destruction of their communities – for the clear purpose of taking over their lands in the service of Jewish interests – is legal. The justices have thus proved once again that the occupied cannot expect justice from the occupier's court.

The decision, weaving baseless legal interpretation with decontextualized facts, makes it clear that there is no crime which the high court justices will not find a way to legitimize. Employing sugarcoated language, hypocrisy, and lies, the justices once again fulfilled their role in Israel’s regime of Jewish supremacy and paved the way for the crime of forcible transfer to be committed, while reversing reality: the ruling cast Palestinian victims as the “unlawful” offenders, while portraying the apartheid regime as the victim.

The international community must prevent Israel from forcibly transferring the Masafer Yatta communities and make sure, should this crime be committed, that those responsible for it – including government ministers, the military top echelons, and the supreme court justices – will be held accountable.

For additional information: Dror Sadot, +972-52-8342123, dror@btselem.org

Our mailing address is B'Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories P.O. Box 53132, Jerusalem 9153002