Law in Action.

or, How to Save Some Lives...

Israel's High Court of Justice reversed itself Thursday, after previously refusing to hear petititioners' requests for an immediate hearing on the Israeli government's decision to reduce fuel and electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip.

Although the court did not explain its decision, and had rejected the third request just three days earlier, it appeared that latest events in Gaza persuaded it that the matter required immediate attention.

Two Palestinians and 10 human rights organizations petitioned the High Court on October 28, after the government announced it would reduce electricity and fuel supplies in the context of its decision to declare the area ruled by Hamas "hostile territory." On November 29, the court rejected the petitioners' request for an interim injunction temporarily prohibiting the state from reducing fuel supplies until the court ruled on the core request to cancel the cabinet's decision altogether. Later, the court said the next hearing on the petition would take place on February 3.

On January 3, January 6 and January 21, the petitioners again asked the court to hold an urgent hearing on the grounds that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was deteriorating. Each time the court rejected the request.

Apparently, the government decision to seal the border crossings, the complete power outage in Gaza City and the massive exodus of Gazans into Sinai changed the justices' mind.

According to Sari Bashi, director-general of Gisha, one of the groups petitioning against the cuts, the fact that the border between Egypt and Gaza has been breached does not, at least for the time being, change the fact that Israel is responsible for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Since Israel withdrew from the Strip in 2005, Gisha has maintained that Israel still effectively occupies Gaza because it controls all land, sea and air access to the territory.
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(Amnesty International's head Middle East researcher Donatello) Rivera said that even if there was access by land between Egypt and Gaza, Israel will still control air and sea access to the Strip. It will also be able to prevent residents of Gaza from entering the West Bank, even though the two are regarded as one entity.

"Either an entity is occupied or it is sovereign or belongs to a sovereign country," said Rovera. "There is no in-between status."