Palestinian village sues Canadian builders over Israeli settlement

A West Bank village is suing two Quebec-based companies for $2 million, alleging they violated international law by building Israeli settlements on occupied territory.

The claim, filed Wednesday against sister companies Green Park International and Green Mount International, also asks the Quebec Superior Court for an injunction to stop further construction, and demolish apartment buildings already erected in Moddin Illit, a Jewish settlement northwest of Ramallah.

The Palestinian village of Bil'in alleges both companiescommitted war crimes by building housing in the settlement, Israel's largest in the West Bank. The lawsuit also names Annette Laroche, who is named as the director of both companies.

The apartment buildings are built on land that was part ofa Palestinian village until Israel seized the West Bank from Jordanian controlin the Six-Day War in 1967.

About 30 buildings with 250 apartments and condominiums are affected by the lawsuit, said Mark Arnold, a Toronto-based lawyer providing legal counsel for Bil'in.

"This case matters to the village ofBil'in," he told CBC News. "There is a long historical set of facts. This particular village, as I understand it, wishes to have Green Park out of their backyard. And they wish to have their land, which they claim a historical right to, returned to them."

The Palestinian village is home to about 1,700 people.

In the lawsuit, the village's municipal council and chief Ahmed Issa Abdallah Yassin allege Green Park and Green Mount acted as "agents of Israel" by building the housing.

The lawsuit asks the court to rule whether the construction violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, which deals with the protection of civilians in times of war and occupation; Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act; the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms; and the Civil Code of Quebec.

The Fourth Geneva Convention forbids an occupying power from transferring its own civilians into occupied territory.

The village is also seeking $2 million in punitive damages.

The allegations have not been proven in Quebec Superior Court.

Laroche, director of bothQuebec-registered companies, could not be reached for comment.

Lawsuit breaks newground in Canada

The lawsuit is believed to be the first time a private company has been sued for investing in Israeli settlements, according to Michael Sfard, a lawyer in Tel Aviv who is representing the village of Bil'in.

"My understanding is that it will serve as a blinking red light for any investors and corporations that are considering doing anything in the settlements," Sfard told the Associated Press.

If Quebec Superior Court decides to hear the lawsuit, the case will set a precedent in Canada, said Toronto lawyerMark Arnold.

Canadian law applies tothe conduct of Canadians and Canadian companies abroad in these types of matters, Arnold said.

But the Canadian court's jurisdiction ends at Canada's borders, so if the lawsuit is successful in Quebec, the plaintiffs will "take that Canadian court order to an Israeli court and ask an Israeli court to enforce it in Israel," he said in an interview with CBC News on Thursday.

But Canada has the right, and arguably the duty to remind the government of Israel of its duty to abide by the Geneva Convention, on the grounds that Article 1 of the Fourth Convention requires all state parties to "respect and ensure respect" for the treaty, said Bruce Broomhall, director of the Centre for the Study of International Law and Globalization (CDIM) at the Universit du Qubec Montral (UQM).

In that light, Canada has a duty under international law to investigate the companies and their director, and prosecute any complicity in any grave breaches of the convention, he said.

Arguments may be a tough sell, says legal expert

The lawsuit claims the matter cannot first be brought before Israel's Supreme Court because it has never ruled that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal under international law.

The case raises "new and difficult issues" for Quebec's Superior Court, said Ren Provost, director of the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. "The first obstacle is whether this has any place in Canada to start with. This might prove to be one of the biggest hurdles for the plaintiff," he said.

The case is "exceptionally complicated and creative" and will challenge the Canadian court system, Provost said.

"Courts in Canada will, in general, refuse to declare that the actions of other countries are illegal. And the corporation seems to be hired by the Israeli state itself [according to the statement of claim].

"If it is true, it would require the court in Montreal to declare the activities of the Israeli state are illegal under international law," which amounts to mingling into the affairs of another government, Provost said.

"This might cause some embarrassment for the government of Canada, that one of the courts in Canada is declaring the illegality of the actions of another government on its own territory, or in this case, territory it is occupying."

If the lawsuit isallowed to go ahead,and the court rules in favour of the plaintiffs, "this would be a very real public relations coup for the Palestinians," Provost concluded.

B'nai Brith calls lawsuit 'ludicrous'

Representatives of the Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith Canada said they doubt the court will allow the lawsuit to be heard.

"I think the court will throw it out as being a frivolous matter people are trying to use for politicalgain," said vice-president Frank Diamant, who agreed to comment on the case in general without knowing the details of the lawsuit.

"I think it's in principle a ludicrous attempt at creating propaganda wars in this country, trying to bring the Canadian courts into a situation in the Middle East, that absolutely has no merit," he told CBC News.