Ref: 24/2010

The first session of the Russell
Tribunal on Palestine convened in Barcelona, Spain from 1 to 3 March 2010. This
important initiative brought together a number of lawyers, academics, experts
and witnesses in order to address the legal issues arising from Israel’s
occupation of Palestine, and the role of the European Union.

Mr. Raji Sourani, Director of the
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), was due to address the tribunal as
an expert and a witness. However, as a result of the illegal closure of the
Gaza Strip – which has now been in place for over two and a half consecutive
years – Mr. Sourani´s right to freedom of movement was violated and he could
not attend the session.

Mr. Daragh Murray, Legal Advisor at
PCHR, addressed the Tribunal on Mr. Sourani behalf. Mr. Murray first addressed
the denial of Palestinian’s legitimate right to self-determination. His intervention focused on the fundamental
importance attributed to self-determination under international law, and he
provided examples of how Israel’s illegal occupation policy has consistently
violated this right.

Mr. Murray’s second intervention
focused on the crimes committed during the course of last year’s offensive on
the Gaza Strip. He stressed the humanitarian principles underpinning
international human rights and humanitarian law and the essential importance of
enforcing the rule of law if future violations are to be prevented.

In its final conclusions the
Tribunal, having taken note of the experts’ reports and having heard the witnesses, found that Israel has committed
and continues to commit grave breaches of international law against the Palestinian
people.

As the Tribunal outlined, in
particular Israel acts illegally:

1. by violating the right of Palestinian people to
self-determination:

2. by occupying Palestinian territories since 1967 and refusing
to leave them in violation of SC resolutions;

3. by pursuing a policy of systematic discrimination against
Palestinians on Israeli and occupied Palestinian territory that can amount to
apartheid;

4. by annexing Jerusalem in July 1980 and by systematically
building settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank;

5. by constructing the Wall in the West Bank on Palestinian
territory that it occupies, denying the Palestinians access to their own land,
which illegitimacy has been confirmed by the ICJ in its advisory opinion of 9
July 2004;

6. by pursuing a policy of targeted killings against alleged
Palestinian terrorist, without first attempting to arrest them;

7. And, moreover:

8. by maintaining the blockade on the Gaza Strip as a form of
collective punishment;

9. by inflicting serious and extensive damage to civilian
population of the Gaza Strip during operation Cast Lead of December
2008-January 2009.

The Tribunal also found that “while
the EU and its member states are not the direct perpetrators of these acts,
they nevertheless violate international law and the international legal order
of the EU as set down in the EU Treaty either by failing to take the measures
that Israel’s conduct requires them to take or by contributing directly or
indirectly to such conduct”.

Therefore the Tribunal called the EU
and its member states to fulfil their obligations forthwith by responding to the violations of international
law committed by Israel and by refraining from contributing to them through
passive or active forms of assistance.

The findings of the jury following
the first session of the Russell Tribunal are available at http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.net/ext/http://tribunalrussell.blog.pangea.org/

Further sessions of the Russell
Tribunal on Palestine will be held in London at the end of 2010, in South Africa in
mid-2011 and in the United States in late 2011.