Salem military court, officially named the Samaria Military Court, is located on the “Israeli” side of the Separation Fence, opposite the Israeli Arab village of Salem.
The court compound also contains the DCO offices of the Ministry of Defense’s Civil Administration, DCO Salem or DCO Jenin.

On the Israeli side, the entrances to the DCO and the court are separate and are used by military personnel and lawyers who are Israeli citizens.
On the Palestinian side, entrance to the DCO and the court is shared by Palestinian lawyers, family relatives of the detainees and representatives of organizations such as ours. The inspection track into this compound is usually extremely crowded.

In the past, the site had a checkpoint crossed by farmers and others. At present, and only during the olive harvest season, farmers of Zububa village are allowed to cross it over into their lands. The separation fence has separated the farmers from their lands.

The court half are orderly and air conditioned. The waiting room – serving families, Palestinian lawyers and organization representatives – is reasonable, with toilets and a water cooler nearby. No cafeteria. The order of trials at Salem court is not publicized in advance. Nor is the date of each trial known. Thus, waiting time is sometimes very lengthy. People wait for the family to be called into the hall. Crowds wait near the entry gate from the waiting area to the courtroom area in order to better hear their summons.
The rooms serving military personnel and Israeli lawyers are located on the other side of the compound. The physical conditions are not the main hardship here, but rather the issues at hand and the military court’s actual function for a civilian population – these are the main problem resulting from the Israeli military occupation itself.