Following the state of emergency imposed on Israeli courts by the government, proceedings in Jonathan's trail have been put on hold.
The hearing scheduled for November 6 was therefore canceled, and a new hearing was set to January 7, 2024.
Jonathan remains under nighttime curfew and barred from entering the West Bank.
At the opening of his trial, Jonathan refused to enter a plea of guilty or not-guilty, and instead announced that he does not recognize the court's legitimacy, and will refuse to cooperate with the proceedings. He culminated his statement by saying: "The only reasonable response to this indictment, to this reality, is the struggle for liberty and liberation. No voice is louder than the voice of the uprising!"
"The only reasonable response to this indictment, to this reality, is the struggle for liberty and liberation. No voice is louder than the voice of the uprising!"
The announcement followed a motion filed by Jonathan and his lawyer, Riham Nasra, demanding that his trial will be held in a military court, in the same way Palestinians are tried for the same charges. The motion was geared towards exposing Israel's system of legal apartheid, and was rejected on false technical grounds on July 18.
Read Jonathan's full statementAfter more than six months, the court commuted Jonathan's house arrest to nighttime curfew. The new conditions require Jonathan remain under supervised house arrest at nights between 10pm and and 6am, and he is also forbidden by court order from entering the West Bank
Based on false technical argument, the court denied Jonathan's motion to be tried in a military court, avoiding the substantial legal and political arguments raised in it.
The court ruled that only Israelis accused of so-called "security offenses" could be tried in military courts, and that the charges laid against Jonathan are not considered security offenses. Israeli law does not clearly stipulates which charges can be considered "security offenses".
"All Israeli courts are illegitimate and at the heart of the Israeli apartheid system, and are fundamental to the perpetuation of Palestinian servitude. We did not file this motion to receive justice, because there is not justice in Israeli courts. We wanted to expose apartheid and that's exactly what the court did."
On receiving the decision, Jonathan said, "All Israeli courts are illegitimate and at the heart of the Israeli apartheid system, and are fundamental to the perpetuation of Palestinian servitude. We did not file this motion to receive justice, because there is not justice in Israeli courts. We wanted to expose apartheid and that's exactly what the court did."
In a court room packed with supporters, Jonathan and his lawyer, Riham Nasra, filed a motion demanding that Jonathan's trial to be moved to a military court in order to expose Israel's apartheid legal system.
Jonathan and adv. Nasra argued against the apartheid policy of trying Jewish Israeli citizens under favorable conditions and more lenient laws, and requested for his trial to take place in a military court in the West Bank, which is permissible under Israeli law, the same way Palestinians are tried when arrested in West Bank demonstrations. This is the first case ever in which an Israeli citizen makes the legal case for his trial to be moved to a military court in order to challenge apartheid practices.
"We must not - cannot - allow ourselves to accept the system of legal apartheid or any other aspect of Israeli apartheid and colonialism. We didn't file this motion because I have trust in the Israeli courts, but rather in order to expose them"
After the hearing, Jonathan said: "We must not - cannot - allow ourselves to accept the system of legal apartheid or any other aspect of Israeli apartheid and colonialism. We didn't file this motion because I have trust in the Israeli courts, but rather in order to expose them."
After three weeks in jail, Jonathan was released into house arrest today. He will be subject to 24/7 electronic tagging and must be a the presence of one of his court-appointer guarantors.
Jonathan's release was secured largely due to his deteriorating health in jail, which was caused by negligent medical treatment and denial of vegan and medically adequate food.
See you on the barricades!
