Lawyers observe work stoppage in solidarity with Palestine

AMMAN — The Jordan Bar Association (JBA) on Tuesday held a one-hour work stoppage in courts across the Kingdom in solidarity with the Palestinians.

The move, according to JBA President Samir Khirfan, is a protest against the official stance of Arab and Islamic nations and their governments, which is limited to “shy denouncements that are not suitable to the intensity of Israeli aggression against the Palestinians and holy sites”.

There are not enough responses to the “ugly Israeli crimes” against civilians, the association leader told The Jordan Times over phone, giving the example of burning down the house of the Dawabsheh family, causing death a one-and-a-half-year-old child as well as his parents.

“The JBA demands an immediate call for an Arab League meeting that cancels previous decisions that consider peace with Israel as a strategic option,” he said, adding that Israel does not respect such decisions.
He added that the work stoppage, which took place from 11am until noon, demanded the expulsion of Israeli ambassadors from Arab states and to recall their ambassadors in Tel Aviv.

Freeing Ahmad Daqamseh, who is serving a life sentence for killing seven Israeli schoolgirls in March 1997, was also among the demands, as Israel “does not prosecute murderers of Palestinian children and civilians”.

The work stoppage, which witnessed the participation of hundreds of lawyers, also seeks to draw the public’s attention to injustices against the Palestinians, according to Khirfan.

Responding to whether Jordanian lawyers can file lawsuits against Israel, he said the association has conducted several studies on the effectiveness of such moves, adding that a state must file lawsuits against aggressors on its citizens.

Khirfan added that the Palestinian Authority may not make such move out of fear that it could hinder its peace negotiations with Israel.

“Jordan’s investigations into the murder of Jordanian Judge Raed Zuaiter, whom Israeli authorities killed at the Jordan River crossing point last March, are currently inactive, while waiting for the result of the never-ending Israeli investigations,” he noted.

The association’s Palestine Committee is studying the idea of officially communicating with the UN and international organisations that could be of influence regarding the current situation, the lawyer added.

Jordan has condemned the recurrent Israeli crimes against Palestinian civilians and violations of the sanctity of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, as well as the killing of Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank and Gaza.

Officials have said that all options are being considered by Jordan to hold Israel accountable over the escalations in the occupied territories.