The conference will deal with several issues. A panel will deal with “The rights of victims of crime”, another will focus on “Regional cooperation across the Green Line”, and a third on “Local Councils’ legal and moral responsibilities in light of the upcoming elections”. The Legal Status Conference is considered the only national platform where politicians, experts, media representatives, and activists can come together and conduct a dialogue.

The Preparatory Committee of the conference decided to assign the first panel the subject of “Political Participation: from political organisation of Arab citizens to the impact of legislation”. Moreover, the committee added, “what the Joint List is undergoing, its relationship with the High Follow-Up Committee, and the laws passed by the Knesset in the last few years, will change the status of the Palestinian community, affect the judicial system’s independence, and deepen the tension between the state’s Judaism and what is left of its democratic values.” The impact of the Jewish Nation state bill law on the status of the Arab community and the two-state solution will be discussed, as well as the change of positions and views of the Labor Party regarding the settlement issue, the Jewish state, the relationship with the Joint List, the crisis of the Israeli Left, and the suggestion of unifying it with other parties who represent the Arab community. With the Labor Party’s shift in views, the crisis of “two states for both people alliance” has deepened among the parties that represent Arabs and the Zionist Left. Under the changes mentioned, the debate will deal with possible scenarios for the Palestinian community such as: boycotting the elections, establishing autonomy, forming an alliance with the Zionist Left, standing with the Joint List, or searching for international alternatives.

The second panel of the conference will discuss the “the rights of victims of crime”. This issue encompasses the violence in the community in the absence of action by the state’s institutions, the use of representative and civil suits in order to stop the assailants, the rights of assaulted women, the rights of victims of workplace accidents, and of exploited workers.

The third panel will discuss “bilateral Green line cooperation”. This panel will include the legal and political ways to ensure fair economic, cultural, and educational exchange on either side of the 1967 borders. Representatives of the Japanese delegations to Israel and Palestine will present the Jericho Industrial zone. The panel will also discuss the right of the Palestinian community in Israel to receive equal opportunities of education at Palestinian and Jordanian universities, and the issue of commercial exchange between Nazareth, Bethlehem, and the industrial zone of Jericho. Moreover, the panel will address the mechanisms of tribal reconciliation between the South Bank, Jordan, and the Negev, and the political and legal challenges of cross-border cooperation for travel to other Arab countries using Palestinian passports.

Lastly, the fourth panel will address the issue of “Local Councils’ legal and moral responsibilities in the upcoming elections”. This panel is of great importance given impending local elections and will aim to consider the crisis of funding for Arab local councils. The panel will debate the responsibility of local councils in providing services in general and for people with special needs, as well as the legal and financial tools available to encourage women to be elected in the upcoming elections. The panel will consider the importance of limiting corruption and the fear of the black market and its potential control of Arab local councils. The panel will also discuss the issue of political appointing, bids, and exploiting public finances for election endorsement.

A detailed program and conference papers will be published on the Mossawa Center Facebook event page or click here.

Participation in the Legal Status Conference requires registration.
To register, please click here for our registration form.

 (Simultaneous translation in English will be provided).