On September 26, 2024, we, along with Yesh Din, filed a petition with the High Court of Justice challenging the amendment to the Order on the Establishment of a Civil Administration (Amendment No. 33) (Judea and Samaria) (No. 2195), 5774-2024, as well as the accompanying letter of appointment and delegation of powers to the Deputy Head of the Civil Administration for Civil Affairs (dated May 29, 2024). This order and letter transfer all civilian control powers in the West Bank to Additional Minister of Defense Bezalel Smotrich and the Settlement Administration within the Ministry.
The petition argues that this transfer of powers and the newly established regime structure, enacted by the decree, amount to annexation as defined by international law, even without an official declaration of sovereignty. This move severely violates the rights of Palestinian residents—protected citizens under international law—while entrenching the dominance of settlers, thereby exacerbating the existing apartheid conditions in the West Bank.
Additionally, the petition contends that the OC and the head of the Civil Administration lack the authority to issue orders that contradict their foundational legal framework—namely, international law. By signing the order and the letter of appointment, they exceeded their mandate.
The petition further asserts that the order and the letter are also illegal under Israeli administrative law, which governs all Israeli authorities. First, the delegation of powers from the head of the Civil Administration to a so-called "deputy" who operates independently, combined with procedures that prevent the head from reclaiming these powers, effectively constitutes a transfer of authority rather than a legitimate delegation. This violates the principle that an authority cannot relinquish its powers by delegating them to another.
Second, the appointment of the civilian deputy represents a political maneuver within a military framework. By transferring all powers to this deputy, every decision and action of the Civil Administration becomes politicized, despite appearing to remain under the Ministry of Defense. In practice, this has created a separate governance system that operates outside the hierarchy of the defense establishment, undermining the intended separation from the political system.
HCJ 69755-9-24 Association for Civil Rights in Israel v. Minister of Defense
Attorney: Michael Sfard (Yesh Din), Roni Pelli (Association for Civil Rights in Israel)
The petition, September 26, 2024 (Hebrew)
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