Concealed Intentions- JLAC-.pdf

III. JLAC’s Answer to an Internationally Illegal Situation
a. Introduction
The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (“JLAC”) is one of the pioneering human rights organizations in
Palestine. Originally established in 1974 by the American Friends Service Committee, JLAC was formerly known as the
Quaker Service Information and Legal Aid Center. In 1993, a local Board of Directors was appointed as a preliminary
step towards JLAC’s independence, with the Center officially becoming a Palestinian non-governmental and nonprofit
organization in 1997. Since its founding over 35 years ago, JLAC has played an important role in the oPt by
providing pro-bono legal aid and consultations to Palestinians, helping them confront the persistent violations of their
human rights by Israel. JLAC also carries out a public interest program aimed at defending human rights violations
carried out by the PA.
The cases and consultancies provided by JLAC range in thematic area (from house demolition orders issued by Israeli
authorities to political arrests undertaken by the PA), but all fundamentally seek to empower poor and marginalized
individuals and communities with the necessary legal aid in order to help them combat and overcome breaches of
their human rights – regardless of whom the violator is and regardless of what right is being violated. Moreover, JLAC
wages efforts to eliminate the environment of legislative and regulatory deficiencies that enables the occurrence
and perpetuation of human rights violations in the oPt. Such efforts entail (1) the creation of a culture of legal and
human rights awareness among local communities and stakeholders, (2) building strategic alliances and coalitions
with sector players, and (3) advocating for the reform of existing legislation and regulations, among other efforts.
JLAC’s Approach to Israel’s Human Rights Violations
Israel’s discriminatory zoning and planning policies in “Area C” (under full Israeli administrative and military control)
are among the most significant measures that have been taken against the occupied Palestinian population. The
evidence suggests that Israel employs a deliberate policy aimed at severely confining and restricting Palestinians in
various aspects of their lives. The current reality of Palestinian villages, towns, and residential clusters in “Area C” is
characterized by fixed and confined master plans, resulting in overwhelmingly high population densities in the few
areas allotted for building (and in the remainder of the West Bank in extension). Israel’s restrictive plans have made
it virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain the required building permits, as such permits are more often than
not refused – thereby forcing Palestinians to build without and making them vulnerable to the threat of demolition.
The existing zoning and planning regulations also enable Israel to inflict additional human rights abuses against
Palestinians, such as the confiscation of land and the forced displacement of communities (as in the case of Bedouin
communities in the West Bank).
The occupied Palestinian population, particularly the poor and marginalized, unfortunately lacks the ability to attain
the necessary legal support towards combating such human rights violations. In this regard, JLAC employs a two
pronged approach: (1) immediate assistance in the form of legal aid and consultation (towards freezing demolition/
displacement orders and securing the families’ presence in their homes/lands until the court orders otherwise), and
(2) a long-term approach involving efforts to reform public policies and laws (i.e. developing new master plans as an
alternative way to legalize Palestinian construction by expanding ‘planned’ boundaries, adopting test cases aimed
at challenging unfair Israeli planning policies and procedures, and issuing legal memorandums requesting Israeli
authorities to cease discriminatory practices, etc.).
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