MKs give initial nod to bill removing Palestinian Authority’s right to petition High Court

A bill aimed at preventing the Palestinian Authority from petitioning the High Court of Justice passes a preliminary reading 52-23 in the Knesset plenum.

The legislation, an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary supported by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, strips the right to approach the top court from any entity that transfers funds associated with acts of terrorism, which is defined as “rewarding terrorism.”

Israel has long condemned monthly stipends the PA pays to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including those held for terror offenses, and to families of dead attackers, saying they directly incentivize committing terror attacks.

“The purpose of the bill is to correct an anomaly according to which elements hostile to the State of Israel, including those who work directly and in a declared manner to harm its citizens through acts of terrorism, are considered to have the right to stand before the High Court when they come to petition against the policies of the Israeli government,” the bill’s explanatory notes read.

Ramallah submitted a petition to the court objecting to two recently passed laws providing for compensation and damages for the victims of terrorism from the terrorists themselves and their financial supporters, including the PA.

The legislation is one of several measures being pushed by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, including another bill that would prohibit the Public Defender’s Office from providing legal representation to those defined by law as illegal combatants.

To become law, the bill still needs to pass through the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee (chaired by Rothman) and three additional readings in the plenum.