High Court rejects petitions against Israel-Turkey agreement

The High Court of Justice rejected on Thursday three petitions which aimed to strike down the government’s agreement with Turkey.

 

The petitions had brought forward two central arguments: that by agreeing to compensate the families of the victims of the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, the government was agreeing to finance terror; and that the agreement should be voided because it did not guarantee Hamas’s expulsion from the country.

 

Rejecting the first argument, the court ruled that the government was making a “humanitarian gesture.” Two days ago Justice Uri Shoham had indicated his disapproval of the argument, saying “just because there is an agreement which contains certain elements, it does not mean you can say the government is financing terrorist operations.”

 

 

According to Shurat Hadin’s argument, the Israeli government was in fact allowing Hamas to remain fully active in the country, and that any Israeli agreement to normalize relations with Turkey without a full expulsion of Hamas violated numerous Israeli public commitments on its red-lines for a deal.

 

However, Shurat Hadin’s petition was also shot down. In explaining its decision, the court ruled that it was up to the government to determine the nature of the compromise reached with Turkey on this subject. In the previous hearing, the justices had said that the agreement clearly seems to be an issue of statecraft, which courts are not equipped to judge and have no jurisdiction over.

 

Read More: High Court rejects petitions against Israel-Turkey agreement – Israel News – Jerusalem Post