Israel Bans Human Rights Activist from Accepting International Award
A decision by Israel’s government to deny the
head of a Palestinian human rights group permission to travel to receive an
international human rights award was upheld by Israel’s Supreme Court on March
11. Shawan Jabarin, director general of Al-Haq,
had been hoping to travel to the Netherlands to receive the Geuzenpenning
Prize for Human Rights Defenders, which this year was presented to both Al-Haq and the Israeli peace group B’Tselem.
The Geuzenpenning is a
Dutch award given to persons or organizations that have fought for democracy
and against dictatorship, racism and discrimination. It has been awarded annually since 1987 in
the city of Vlaardingen.
Israel has not allowed Jabarin
to leave the occupied territories since 2006 when he became General Director of
Al-Haq, even though he was relatively free to travel
before that. According to Ayelet Filo, a spokeswoman for
the Israeli Supreme Court, the court’s ruling was based on the fact that Jabarin is “involved with terror groups”, adding the court
has “real evidence” linking Jabarin with these
groups. Neither the Israeli government
nor the Supreme Court has publicly disclosed this evidence, citing “security
concerns”. Since October 2006, Israeli military authorities, who have complete
control over the occupied Palestinian territories, have repeatedly denied him
permission to leave the West Bank to attend human rights conferences in various
countries.
In an interview with Electronic Intifada, Jabarin describes Al-Haq’s human
rights work. “To be able to
advocate for the respect for human rights, we collect first-hand data on
violations of human rights in Gaza and the West Bank, regardless of who is the
perpetrator. We look into violations committed by Israel, the occupying power,
and by its soldiers. We also research human rights violations committed by the
Palestinian Authority. The data we collect are also being used to hold violators
accountable. Without bringing crimes to court, the violations will continue.
Impunity will lead to repetition. We not only want to hold individual violators
of human rights accountable, but also companies that are involved in criminal
activities. Last year we started, in cooperation with the people of Bilin village, legal proceedings in Quebec against Green
Park International Inc. and Green Mount International Inc. These two Canadian
corporations 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 unlawfully appropriated land of the village of Bilin. We are currently preparing more legal action in
several countries in Europe."
The Geuzenpenning
is an initiative of the Geuzen Resistance (1940-1945)
Foundation. The organization takes its name from the resistance group called “De
Geuzen” which was active in the Netherlands during
World War II. After the war, surviving members of the group
started the foundation to honor the memory of their fallen comrades and the Geuzen ideals, to promote and maintain democracy in the
Netherlands and to heighten global awareness of all forms of dictatorship,
discrimination and racism.