Bil’in Village Council sues Canadian corporations for involvement in settlement construction

Friday July 11, 2008 18:01 by Republished from Al Haq

Bil’in Village Council Submits Case before Canadian Court Against Canadian Corporations for Involvement in Illegal Settlement Construction.

In a continuation of their struggle for justice in the face of unlawful appropriation of their land, the people of Bil’in village yesterday commenced legal proceedings before the Superior Court of Quebec against Green Park International Inc. and Green Mount International Inc. The defendants are Canadian corporations registered in the Province of Quebec who have been involved in constructing, marketing and selling residential units in the illegal Jewish-Israeli settlement of Modi’in Illit in the occupied West Bank, on the land of the village of Bil’in.

The land in question has been appropriated by the Israeli military authorities in violation of the laws of occupation. The defendants, on their own behalf and as de facto agents of the State of Israel, are constructing residential units on this Palestinian land for the purpose of housing Israeli settlers. The petition, filed by the Village Council’s lawyer in Canada, Mark Arnold, demonstrates that in so doing, the defendants are aiding, abetting, assisting and conspiring with Israel, the Occupying Power in the West Bank, in carrying out an illegal act.

Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, an Occupying Power is prohibited from transferring part of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. Such transfer of settlers into occupied territory is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as well as under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act of 2000. The petition thus argues that through their actions, the defendant companies have wilfully or negligently participated in the violation of international humanitarian and criminal law, as well as domestic Canadian law. As such, Bil’in Village Council is entitled to obtain the cessation of the illegal activities of the defendants, and to reparation for injury caused, under both the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Civil Code of Quebec.

On this basis, and on the basis of the fact that matters at issue in the case are not justifiable before the Israeli High Court of Justice (which instead defines settlements as a “political” issue, per Bargil v. Government of Israel, HCJ 4481/91), the petition seeks:

Ø      a declaration from the Superior Court of Quebec that the conduct of the defendants in constructing residential units in an illegal settlement is unlawful;

Ø      a permanent injunction and order requiring the defendants and their directors, officers and agents to forthwith cease all construction and related activity with regard to the land of Bil’in village; and

Ø      punitive damages of CAD$2 million, to be paid by the defendants to the plaintiffs, as a result of injury wilfully caused.

The defendants have 10 days to file an appearance at the Montreal Court House. If they do so, the action will be presented before the Court on 11 August 2008. Should they fail to do so, a judgment by default may be rendered against them.

Press conferences regarding the case will be held today, Thursday 10 July, at 1:00 pm local time at Ramattan Studios in Ramallah, and at 12:00 pm local time at the offices of Gardner Miller Arnold LLP in Toronto. All media are invited to attend. Al-Haq will continue to keep you informed of any further developments in the case. Please do not hesitate to contact haq(a)alhaq.org should you have any questions, comments or require further information.

Background/Related Information

Israel’s construction of the Annexation Wall in the area has facilitated the appropriation of Bil’in’s land, keeping the illegal Israeli settlement on the western side of the Wall and cutting off the Palestinian villagers from their land. Since 2005, the village’s resistance to the appropriation of its land has been marked by weekly non-violent demonstrations against the Wall.

In September 2007, the Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) adjudged that the route of the Wall in Bil‘in was designed not for genuine security purposes, as claimed by the Israeli authorities, but rather to accommodate plans for the future expansion of the settlement of Modi‘in Illit, and was causing unjustified harm to the residents of Bil‘in. T

he Court ordered the Israeli authorities to propose an alternative route for the Wall in the area, such that unapproved settlement planning schemes were not taken into account. This decision, which has yet to be enforced, failed to give due regard to the 2004 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, which held that the Wall inside the West Bank is illegal in its entirety and should be dismantled.

The case in Canada regarding the Canadian corporations’ involvement in the unlawful settlement construction was filed yesterday, 9 July 2008, to mark the fourth anniversary of the issuing of the Advisory Opinion.

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Al-Haq is an independent Palestinian non-governmental human rights organisation based in Ramallah, West Bank. Established in 1979 to protect and promote human rights and the rule of law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the organisation has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Al-Haq documents violations of the individual and collective rights of Palestinians in the OPT, irrespective of the identity of the perpetrator, and seeks to end such breaches by way of advocacy before national and international mechanisms and by holding the violators accountable. The organisation conducts research; prepares reports, studies and interventions on breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law in the OPT; and undertakes advocacy before local, regional and international bodies.

Al-Haq also cooperates with Palestinian civil society organisations and governmental institutions in order to ensure that international human rights standards are reflected in Palestinian law and policies. The organisation has a specialised international law library for the use of its staff and the local community. Al-Haq is the West Bank affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists - Geneva, and is a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Habitat International Coalition (HIC), and the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO).

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