This newsletter informs about recent and upcoming activities of Civil Society Organizations affiliated with the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The Committee and the Division for Palestinian Rights of the UN Secretariat provide the information “as is” without warranty of any kind, and do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in the websites linked in the newsletter.
NGO Action News
06 January 2017
Global
- Amnesty International said in a press release in response to the conviction of Elor Azaria, an Israeli soldier who had shot dead a wounded Palestinian involved in a March 2016 Hebron knife attack, that the conviction offered a “glimmer of hope amid the rampant impunity for unlawful killings in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.
Middle East
- On 2 January 2017, Addameer, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society estimated the number of Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in 2016 at 6,440 including 1332 minors and 164 women. According to the organizations, the statistics collected suggest that youth and former prisoners were particularly vulnerable to arrest, especially in Jerusalem.
- Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights has reiterated its support for UN Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) on settlements and called on the international community to take prompt steps to, inter alia, lift the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and end the Israeli occupation.
- The Geneva Initiative welcomed US Secretary of State Kerry’s 28 December 2016 speech on Israel and Palestine, stating that together with UN Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016), the international community had not only accurately identified barriers to peace but also pointed to solutions.
Europe
- In response to Secretary of State Kerry’s recent speech, the London-based Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) issued a press release claiming that Secretary Kerry’s vision “poses a danger to Palestinian rights, particularly the right of return of refugees”.
- On 24 December, the UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign welcomed Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016), calling for a ban on the importation of settlement products and a stronger set of guidelines to businesses and banks to ensure they have no trading, financial or investment links with Israeli settlements.
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Document Type: NGO Action News
Document Sources: Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR), Geneva Initiative, Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Palestinian Return Centre Ltd.
Subject: NGOs/Civil Society
Publication Date: 06/01/2017
Document Sources: Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR), Geneva Initiative, Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Palestinian Return Centre Ltd.
Subject: NGOs/Civil Society
Publication Date: 06/01/2017