Perhaps you might remember back in February when the Israeli Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, ruled that the seizure of Palestinian lands in
East Jerusalem was illegal. This put a halt to a practice in which the Israeli government claimed they could confiscate virtually any land they desired, under the pretext of a 1950 law which had never been utilized until a secret Knesset meeting reinstated it last July. Well now there is a new, encouraging story.
Yesterday we had news of a new attorney working for justice. Attorney Talya Sasson, the former head of the criminal department at the State Attorney's Office, submitted a report to Sharon detailing over
100 illegal Israeli settlements (outposts) within the West Bank.
Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz called for Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to launch a criminal police investigation to examine the illegal aspects of the activities of the government offices and employees mentioned in the report.
"The attorney general must do something that would make it clear Israel would not tolerate a situation whereby its employees break the law in an effort to thwart its decisions," he said.
Knesset Member Uri Ariel (National Unity) called for Mazuz to investigate Sharon's involvement in the establishment of illegal outposts.
That these settlements exist is not news. What's important is that these settlements were receiving monetary and strategic support from the Israeli government, even though their existance was illegal under Israeli law. Knesset members are now asking for a full investigation to find where the support for these settlements originated - including an investigation into Sharon himself. It will be interesting to see how far this goes. At the very least, it is quite refreshing to see self-censure on the part of the Israelis. This is something that has been dearly lacking in the "peace process". That the judicial wing has been acting somewhat independently of the legislative is a good step forward.