The restrictions put forth by the Israel government in Gaza clearly makes in nearly impossible for a Palestinian to sue there. Gaza has been under the Israel rule for more than three years till date. During the past three year, Gaza has been suffering from the military offenses; however, they find it impossible to sue the soldiers for compensation as they are restricted by unjustifiable unreasonable restrictions. Israeli restrictions prevent Gazans from entering Israel to testify, undergo medical exams or meet with their lawyers. However the most intolerable restriction put forth by them is the heavy court fees and legal charges. On an average, this sum comes to about tens of thousands of dollars.

A person having an annual income under $6000 was asked to pay a court fee of $5000. The Israeli court claims this to be a strategy to prevent frivolous litigation and also states that not only the Palestinians but all foreign nationals have to adhere to these regulations. This they claim is because, if a local national fails to pay the court fees and legal charges, his assets can be seized to cover the expense, however this is not possible in the case of a foreign national, by which the court will have to bear the loss.

However Palestinians claim that this could only cause them to drop their cases. They also claim that the Israeli government is trying to protect their soldiers. Atrocities have been going on against Palestinians for years; however, they remain silent because of their monetary incapacity to sue.

Israel’s unreasonable restrictions upon Palestinian suits

Report by Anupama