A/HRC/12/48 page 61 outbreak of the second intifada. Al-Qassam Brigades were established in the early 1990s with the stated aim of conducting armed resistance to Israeli occupation.77 D. Relevant political and administrative structures in Israel 216. In Israel, a largely ceremonial President is elected by the 120-seat Knesset for a sevenyear, non-renewable term. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the largest party or coalition in the Knesset, whose members are elected by party-list, proportional representation for four-year terms. The three main parties are the centre-left Labour Party, the centrist Kadima and the right-wing Likud.78 217. Following legislative elections, the President assigns a Knesset member – traditionally the leader of the largest party – the task of forming a governing coalition. 218. Israel has no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are fulfilled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset) and the Israeli Citizenship Law. 219. The court system comprises Magistrates’ Courts, which are courts of first instance in criminal and civil matters; District Courts, which are courts of first instance with jurisdiction over serious criminal offences which carry the death penalty or more than seven years’ imprisonment and act as appellate courts for the judgments of the Magistrates' Court; and the Supreme Court, which is the highest judicial instance of the country.79 The Supreme Court hears direct petitions from Israeli citizens. It also hears cases related to Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip sitting as the High Court of Justice.80 Palestinian civilians charged with security-related and other criminal offences are, however, commonly tried in the Israeli military court system. Since 1967, more than 200,000 cases have been brought before military courts, where Palestinian civilians have been prosecuted and judged by the military authorities. About half the prisoners currently being held in Israel have been sentenced to prison terms by military courts.81 220. The Israeli police is a civilian force mandated to fight crime, control traffic and maintain public safety. The border police (Magav) is the military branch of the Israeli police, with combat, counter-terrorism and riot-control units. 77 “Occupied Palestinian Territories torn apart…”. Freedom House. Country report: Israel (2009), available at: http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&country=7630&year=2009. 78 79 The State of Israel – The Judicial Authority, at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/eng/home/index.html. “As the High Court of Justice, the Supreme Court rules as a court of first instance, primarily in matters regarding the legality of decisions of State authorities: Government decisions, those of local authorities and other bodies and persons performing public functions under the law. It rules on matters in which it considers it necessary to grant relief in the interests of justice, and which are not within the jurisdiction of another court or tribunal.” See The State of Israel – Judicial Authority (The Supreme Court), at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/eng/rashut/maarechet.html. 80 See Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights, Backyard Proceedings: The Implementation of Due Process Rights in the Military Courts in the Occupied Territories (December 2007), available at: http://www.yeshdin.org/site/images/BackyardProceedingsEng.pdf. 81