New gov't bill: Israel won't compensate Gazans
Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs approves bill recognizing Gaza Strip as foreign entity. If proposal is backed by Knesset, State will not see itself responsible for paying compensation to Gaza residents injured in IDF activities. Bill contradicts High Court ruling from December 2006
The bill now has to be approved by the Knesset in three readings.
Palestinian photographer injured last week in IDF-Hamas clashes in Gaza (Photo: AFP)
Last December, an expanded panel of Supreme Court judges had ruled that the State was responsible for damages caused during the IDF's activity in the territories.
The judges had partially accepted in principle a petition filed by human rights organizations against an amendment to the Civil Wrongs Law regarding the eligibility of West Bank and the Gaza Strip residents for compensation following the IDF's activities there.
That being said, the court rejected the eligibility for compensation to citizens of enemy state or members of terrorist organizations.
The human rights groups demanded to cancel a legislation which prevents Palestinians from claiming compensation from the State.
The organizations claimed that "the amendment to the Civil Wrongs Law, which deprives (Palestinians) of their right to claim compensation also for damages caused not during war activities is a racist and unethical law, and it also leads to lack of control over the army's activities in the occupied territories."
According to the bill approved by the ministerial committee on Sunday, "In light of the High Court ruling… a situation has been created in which many residents of the Gaza area and the surrounding villages will file damage lawsuits for damages allegedly caused to them, following the IDF's legitimate and legal defensive activities."
The bill added that "following the disengagement from Gaza… it is unthinkable that (Israel) will continue to bear any responsibility for the residents of the Gaza area, which are, in this case, residents of the villages beyond Israel's northern border.
"Today, when Israeli communities cease to exist in the Gaza area, any Israeli activity in this area is a defensive activity in every sense of the word. In that case, there is no room for damage lawsuits from people who are residents of an entity which is not the State of Israel, all the more so from residents of an entity which sponsors actions against the State of Israel."
