Palestinians Find Little Justice In Israeli Military Courts
Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to Israeli military courts, which offer them little chance for justice, writes Jillian Kestler-D'Amours.
OFER PRISON, West Bank — Dozens of Palestinian men and women are caged in behind a grey metal fence topped with barbed wire. Some pace back and forth. Others sit on benches in silence. A group huddles together, whispering quietly. Each face is painted with a look of concern and uncertainty.
This is Ofer military court, and these men and women are waiting anxiously to see their loved ones, Palestinian detainees who will soon have hearings in the beige trailers serving as courtrooms on this Israeli military base.
“If we review the procedures in these military courts, it’s very hard to say that they follow fair-trial standards,” explained Sahar Francis, director of Addameer, a Ramallah-based organization supporting Palestinian prisoner rights.
Most Palestinian detainees brought to Ofer spend only a few minutes in front of a judge — an Israeli army officer, either on active or reserve duty. Wearing brown Israeli prison uniforms and shackled at their hands and feet, the prisoners' hearings are held entirely in Hebrew, with translations to and from Arabic by Israeli soldiers.
