Levy Report

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the "members were meticulously chosen":[2] Levy, who served as deputy mayor of Ramle on behalf of the Likud before being appointed as a Supreme Court judge,[6] was the single minority justice to oppose the 2005 unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip, declaring that it violated the rights of the Jewish settlers,[2] Baker who is a resident of the West Bank settlement Har Adar was on the payroll of a settlers' organization which advocates legalization of outposts, and Shapira, the daughter of former Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren,[7] is a sister-in-law of right-wing ideologue Israel Harel.

[2] The Levy Report states that the classical laws of belligerent occupation "as set out in the relevant international conventions cannot be considered applicable to the unique and sui generis historic and legal circumstances of Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria spanning over decades", and that the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention against the transfer of populations is not applicable to the Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, concluding: "Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of settlements cannot, in and of itself, be considered illegal".

[1] The assertion that Israel’s settlement project is the province of domestic Israeli jurisdiction and not international law is "the most noteworthy, critical, and challenging aspect of the report," according to the Foundation for Middle East Peace.

[4] The report notes that unauthorized Jewish building, including some 100 outposts built from 1991 to 2005, had taken place with the help of government offices and ministries, adding that the involvement of governmental agencies in such activity means that "such conduct is to be seen as implied agreement".

The committee asks the government to clarify its policy on West Bank Jewish building, and ensure that all future settlement construction proceeds with the proper authorizations and permits "in accordance with the law".

[1] The report calls on the government to allow planning and zoning authorities to complete the authorization process for outposts and unauthorized settler building on state land without any further need for additional political approval, saying that “pending completion of these proceedings and examination of the possibility of granting building permits, the state is advised to avoid carrying out demolition orders, since it brought about the present situation by itself” and suggests that settlements built on land whose status is unclear should be considered “settlements whose legal status is pending”.

[5][14] Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, dismissed the report and called on Israel to stop settlement activities if it is interested in reaching peace.

[3] Al Fatah, the PLO′s largest faction headed by Mahmoud Abbas, reportedly issued a statement calling the Levy committee’s conclusions a "farce" that "mocked and defied the international community".

[3] In a press release of 18 October 2012, Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator, stated that "the Levy Report simply reflects the position of a government that has chosen to turn occupation into annexation and to impose an Apartheid reality in Palestine rather than taking steps to make peace possible".

[12] By the time the Knesset dissolved in October 2012 following the call for early elections in January 2013, Netanyahu had not brought the report before the cabinet or the Ministerial Settlements Committee, which would have the power to approve it.

[4] Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely, preparing to submit a bill to the Knesset, stated that "the Knesset must approve the report's conclusions, set up an Israeli land registry in Judea and Samaria, set up a court of law for discussing land issues in Judea and Samaria and apply Israeli planning and construction laws in these areas".

[18] National Union MK Arieh Eldad said the report "smashes into pieces the mantra of 'occupation' as far as international law is concerned" and called for an end to the "Muslim occupation of the Land of Israel that began 1300 years ago".

[21] Israeli historian Ron Pundak who played an important role in starting the Oslo peace process in 1993 argues that the Levy Report is part of a sophisticated plan to alter Israeli public perceptions about Area C, which, as he asserts, is already de facto annexed and 40 percent of which Netanyahu intends to keep, and where Israel is investing notable economics resources to prevent Palestinian development.

If the committee’s claim is accepted that Israel is not obliged to act in accordance with these laws, some other normative framework must be offered, one that will meet international legal standards.

[9] The Association for Civil Rights in Israel rejected the findings of the report, saying the conclusions were "legally unfounded and their purpose is to authorize and deepen the injustice that Israeli governments are performing in the Occupied Territories in the past 45 years".

And they would interfere with the message that Prime Minister Netanyahu and previous Israeli governments have sent for the last two decades of a profound commitment to a negotiated two-state solution that will require compromise by both sides.

In response to Baker's letter, IPF executive director David Halperin wrote in an email to Haaretz: "In short, Ambassador Baker seems to have misunderstood the nature of our concerns, which stem from the added impediments the Levy Report poses for achieving a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – not the technical and legal reasoning used to arrive at its conclusions, which is irrelevant to our concern", adding IPF's fear "that the Levy Report will not strengthen Israel's position in this conflict, [and] at this moment, it is more critical than ever that Israel strengthen its claim in the international community that it is committed to a two-state vision, which is, in turn, central to Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state".

Rather, it is important that a respected legal commission under the chairmanship of one of the Supreme Court’s retired justices has both reaffirmed this truth as well as making recommendations for avoiding in the future the complications and arbitrary procedures whereby Jewish life and construction in Judea and Samaria have become unnecessarily fraught.