A Palestinian Authority-controlled village in Samaria is accusing two Canadian construction firms of war crimes over a housing project in the city of Modiin Illit. Attorneys representing the village will make use of Canada's War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act.
Representatives of the village, Bil'in, say the companies are building on land belonging to a villager, in violation of international laws against transfer of a civilian population into occupied territory. The attorneys argue that Samaria qualifies as occupied territory, while Israel defines it as disputed territory.
Bil'in residents are demanding that the courts declare construction in Modiin Illit illegal under international law, that the two firms destroy the housing units they have already built, and that they give the town of Bil'in $2 million as compensation.
Attorneys said they plan to file in Canada in hopes that Canada, unlike Israel, will declare Judea and Samaria “occupied territory” in which Israel is forbidden to build.
Attorney Ronald Levy, representing the two companies, told the Canadian Jewish News that he believes the suit is “a media exercise intended to besmirch Israel.” The plaintiffs “don't care if they win or not, they just want attention,” he said.
Levy has submitted three motions arguing that Canadian courts should not agree to hear the case. First of all, he says, Israeli courts have already determined that the land in question does not belong to the individual plaintiff who has filed suit.
In addition, Levy argues that Canada's courts have no jurisdiction in the matter.
The suit follows a lawsuit filed by PA Arabs in Spain against Israeli generals who approved the assassination of arch-terrorist Salah Shehadeh in 2002. In a similar move, attorneys in the Shehadeh case argued that a Spanish law against war crimes allows Spanish courts to hear cases that do not involve citizens of Spain and did not take place on Spanish territory.
The case is likely to lead to a revision of Spain's laws in order to restrict jurisdiction.