Following the imposition of sanctions on a number of organizationsand settlers in Judea and Samaria for allegedly "harming Palestinians," Israeli financial institutions and banks have taken an unprecedented list of steps against the victims.
Among the severe violations that were recorded: blocking of citizens' bank accounts, cancellation of credit cards, prevention of access to personal funds, loss of ability to perform basic financial transactions, prevention of financial assistance by family members, and more.
Following this, attorneys Tsofia Nahon and Ovadia Avitsur filed a massive lawsuit against the financial institutions, on behalf of those suffering from the sanctions.
Among those represented are Ateret Yardeni, wife of Eitan Yardeni from Havat Maon, who has been directly affected by the sanctions imposed on her husband; and Reut Ben-Haim, one of the founders of the Tzav 9 organization.
Attorneys Tsofia Nahon and Ovadia Avitsur said: "We enlisted to represent those affected by the sanctions due to the severity of the situation and the serious violation of the rights of Israeli citizens in violation of the law and without authority, which constitutes a slippery slope, while creating a dangerous precedent, which allows foreign governments to classify Israeli citizens as terrorist activists without proving wrongdoing and without any legal process and as a result leads entire Israeli families to poverty, humiliation, dishonor, and more."
"Israeli financial institutions, led by banks, are applying the same sanctions that equate a Hamas activist who massacred, raped, and kidnapped Israeli citizens to an Israeli citizen with no criminal record who, for example, used their freedom of expression and right to demonstrate against humanitarian aid to the enemy during a time of war. This is comparison that is outrageous! In some cases, these financial institutions even go beyond what is stated in the order by applying sanctions to first degree family members, without transparency and without providing a fair opportunity to defend themselves."
They stressed, "This is a serious violation of the fundamental rights of Israeli citizens, without proper legal justification and contrary to the basic principles of the Israeli legal system. This is the enforcement of foreign laws on citizens of the country, which raises serious legal and ethical questions."
"The violation does not end with the blocking of accounts, but has far-reaching economic and social consequences for the affected citizens, including entire families who are denied access to basic means.
"This is a direct violation of fundamental rights to property, privacy and the right to earn a living with dignity. We cannot stand by while an Israeli financial system enforces foreign laws that violate civil rights. The purpose of the lawsuits is to restore the rights of the victims, compensate them and create legal norms that will prevent similar violations in the future.
"The court will have to protect the small citizen from the giant corporations that have found it appropriate to use their enormous resources and batteries of lawyers to harm the small customer instead of protecting them against these crazy decisions in the US, the UK and the EU.
"If these financial entities were concerned about the best interests of their clients as they are required and as they are obligated, they would have sent legal teams to US courts and not chosen the easy and offensive path they are currently taking against a mother of eight living in the periphery, a Zionist citizen of this country who has been fighting in the reserves for more than 100 days or a resident of the Negev who volunteers to protect farmers' lands, and more."