In the occupied West Bank, one Palestinian family's story shows the limits of the Israeli court system

LAURENCE GEAI/MYOP FOR LE MONDE World World World Israel/Palestine Israel/Palestine Israel/Palestine In the occupied West Bank, one Palestinian family's story shows the limits of the Israeli court system By Manon Chapelain Published today at 5:30 am (Paris) 8 min read Lire en français Subscribers only Make us preferred on Google share Share on Messenger Share on Facebook Share by email Share on Linkedin Copy link Feature Far from being enforced, the rare rulings handed down by the Israeli Supreme Court – the highest court in Israel – in favor of Palestinians who have been dispossessed of their land or homes by Israeli settlers have been overturned either by force or by the military authorities. The entryway is nothing more than a charred artery, gaping open onto the remnants of a crime. The flames consumed everything: the stair railing, the delicate ceramic tiles and, somewhere beneath thick layers of gray soot, the hopes of the Toubassi family. After weeks of legal battles, these Palestinians still hoped, in the early morning of September 29, to reclaim their homes: two elegant houses perched at the top of a hill in Jaloud, in the occupied West Bank, which Israeli settlers had taken over. But the night ended in the brutality of a blaze, once again exposing the limits of an Israeli justice system onto which, for lack of better options, Palestinians continue to tack their last hopes. The legal saga began a few weeks earlier, on August 27, when lawyer Ghiath Nasser pleaded the Toubassi family's case before the Israeli Supreme Court. During the hearing, Nasser presented video footage showing evidence of a siege that had lasted nearly 90 days. After three months of assaults and harassment, including stone-throwing and death threats, "hilltop youth," among the most radical of the Israeli settlers, finally forced the Toubassi family to flee on July 22, before seizing their property. Faced with the evidence, the judges described an "unacceptable" situation. On September 6, they ordered the Israeli authorities to allow the family to return under military protection, within 14 days. The family was initially scheduled to return on September 24. That day, starting at dawn, they found themselves watching their old homes from the opposite hill, on television. Reddened eyes fixated on the screen in the living room of the house where they were staying, as live footage from surveillance cameras installed to monitor the settlers' movements streamed in. All day, the family waited for a call from COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for coordinating government activities in the Palestinian territories. "There are too many journalists with us," Toubassi, the father, said, believing that was the reason no action had been taken. The phone would only ring four days later, around 11 pm, under the cover of night and away from prying eyes. You have 81.66% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.