HCJ 6213/23 Burqa Village Council Head v. Military Commander in the West Bank et al.

Date of submission: August 16, 2023

The head of the Burqa Village Council has filed a High Court petition against the Commander of Military Forces in the West Bank (GOC Central Command), the Supervisor of Governmental and Abandoned Property at the Civil Administration and the Samaria Regional Council, with Yesh Din’s help. The petition seeks the repeal of Order No. 2138 issued by the GOC Central Command, which extends the municipal boundaries of the Samaria Regional Council to include some lands belonging to the village of Burqa. The petition seeks to reverse the transfer of public land within the boundaries of the new order from the Civil Administration to the regional council and to allocate them instead to Burqa residents. The petition maintains that the decision to issue the order was made in “breach of the law, counter to undertakings made before the court and based on extraneous, political considerations by government officials, which the military commander is prohibited from taking into account.”

The petition argues that the lands added to the regional council’s jurisdictional boundaries were non-contiguous “islands” of public land (“state land”) inside an area mostly made up of lands privately owned by residents of Burqa, which would inevitably continue the violation of local Palestinians’ rights to property and freedom of movement – as has been the case for many years. Given the laws in effect in the West Bank, once the lands come under the regional council’s jurisdiction, Palestinian residents will be denied access to them, leading to extensive restrictions on movement for Palestinians in the area. This is in addition to the many incidents of violence in the area, which also restrict the movement of Palestinian landowners and present a danger to their safety and to public order in the area.

Allocating the land to the Samaria Regional Council for the purpose of establishing a new settlement, while shutting out Palestinians, deepens the continued illegal discrimination in the allocation of public lands in the West Bank. Over 56 years of occupation, Israel has allocated about 99% of public lands (“state lands”) to the settlement enterprise and less than one percent (!) to the Palestinian public. The figures reveal a systematically and blatantly discriminatory policy whereby public land is allocated for use by the Israeli public alone with virtually no exceptions, while the local, protected Palestinian population is entirely shut out and subjected to discrimination.

Allocating the land for the settlement ignores the needs of Burqa residents and deepens this discrimination. The allocation is intended to promote the political interests of government officials, which the military commander may not consider according to the rules of international law and the High Court’s jurisprudence. In this specific context, given the Samaria Regional Council’s long history of involvement in breaches of law in the area, allocating the lands to the council is tantamount to rewarding the perpetrators. It also defies the military commander’s primary power and obligation, which is to safeguard and promote public order and safety.

The actions in question were pursued at record speed and under the shroud of secrecy (with respect to Palestinians only, not Israelis, of course) while completely ignoring the rights and needs of Burqa residents, as well as the duty to maintain the rule of law and public order. For these reasons, the petition seeks the revocation of these measures and the allocation of public lands in the area for use by residents of Burqa.

Petition status: Pending.