The Occupation of Justice: The Supreme Court of Israel and the Occupied Territories

The Occupation of Justice presents the first comprehensive discussion of the Supreme Court of Israel's decisions on petitions challenging policies and actions of the authorities in the West Bank and Gaza since their occupation during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Kretzmer addresses issues including: the basis for the Court's jurisdiction; application and interpretation of the international law of belligerent occupation; the legality of civilian settlements and highway construction; and security measures such as curfews, deportations and housing demolitions. While pertaining to a specific political and legal context, this case study has broader implications regarding how courts in democratic countries act in times of conflict and crisis.

It shows that at such times domestic courts tend to close ranks with the executive branch against those elements that are perceived as external threats to society.

David Kretzmer is Bruce W. Wayne Professor of International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Visiting Professor of Law at Bar Ilan University. He is Vice-Chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Committee and is the author of several books, including The Legal Status of the Arabs in Israel.

This book offers a very vivid picture of how a court in a system that attaches great importance to law grapples with serious security issues. It is also an excellent case study of the administration of a long-term belligerent occupation and a remarkably textured examination of the operation of a foreign legal system. -- Michael Reisman, Yale Law School

This is the definitive work on the issue of the Supreme Court of Israel and the Occupied Territories. Kretzmer does a splendid job explaining the Court's constraints and evolving jurisprudence in this area. -- Pnina Lahav, Boston University School of Law