Palestinians Planning Legal Actions Against Israel

Emboldened by the UN Security Council vote against Israel on Friday, individual Palestinians as well as the Palestinian Authority are putting together legal challenges to what is suddenly seen as a vulnerable Israel. On Monday, the Israeli news portal YNet reported the legal challenge to Israeli communities on land conquered in the 1967 war by families claiming ownership. Critics of the Netanyahu government assert that the so-called “Regulation Bill” pending before the parliament – which retroactively legalizes outposts [nascent precursors to Israeli communities] in the West Bank crosses a line the international community will not tolerate. The bill is one of several that has painted the government as moving rapidly rightward and in doing so jeopardizing Israel’s already precarious position in the community of nations. Netanyahu’s political nemeses see Friday’s vote as the ultimate rebuke to Netanyahu’s recent efforts to bask in the achievement of improving the nation’s diplomatic isolation. Critics argue the 14-0 vote negates that line of thinking. The Palestinian Authority has long-threatened to initiate legal action against Israel in the International Criminal Court at The Hague – a threat given new meaning since Friday despite questions of jurisdiction raised by the Israelis. Other issues being debated include to what extent individual Israelis will be vulnerable to legal challenges based on their professional or army service that they minimally would be forced to defend at great cost and inconvenience.