Dear Friend,

In light of the declaration of a state of emergency in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) by President Mahmoud Abbas on 14 June 2007, and the subsequent issuing of a string of presidential decrees, Al-Haq published its position on the relevant legal issues arising from this, on 24 June 2007. Attached please find an English translation of the original Arabic text.

A further presidential decree was signed on 6 July 2007 transferring all powers of criminal prosecution from the civil judiciary to the military judiciary, and effectively transforming the situation in the OPT from a civil state of emergency to a military state of emergency. This is in further breach of the Palestinian Basic Law, and poses a serious threat to the civil rights and freedoms of the Palestinian people, as well as to the Palestinian judicial system. Thus, you can also find attached an English translation of Al-Haq’s position on the legality of this decree, and the dangers emanating from it; the original Arabic text having been published on 9 July 2007.