NGO Action News – 01 August 2024

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Middle East

• On 13 August, Zochrot will organize the virtual event “The Palestinian Prisoners from 1948 to this Day”, upon the launch of its booklet “Remembering the Prisoners of War Camps” following recent evidence of the incarceration condition in present-day camps where Israel detains thousands of Palestinians. In the event, experts and attorneys Sahar Francis, Shai Gortler and Khalid Mahajne will discuss about detention past and present and analyze its objectives and motivations. On 21 July, the NGO organized the discussion “Cultural Genocide in Palestine: Gaza and Beyond” featuring Munir Nusseibeh, focusing on the wide destruction of the Gaza Strip.
• On 31 July, Gisha – Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement issued its response to the Israeli Prime Minister’s decision to postpone medical evacuations of Palestinian children from Gaza. As the Occupying Power in Gaza, Israel has an obligation to protect civilians and ensure their well-being. Gisha reminded that Israel controls all of Gaza’s borders and crossing points and it has therefore an obligation to facilitate the movement of goods and people and ensure the welfare of the civilian population.
• On 29 July, Addameer – Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association issued the press release “International Call to Action: Investigate the Sde Teiman Raid and Human Rights Violations Against Gaza Detainees” to denounce the torture, ill-treatment, and human rights violations against detainees from Gaza since the beginning of the war. Addameer calls for immediate international intervention to ensure accountability and the humane treatment of all detainees. It also calls for a thorough investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the systematic abuses against the detainees from Gaza.
• On 28 July, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) warned of the consequences of the ongoing closure of Gaza Strip crossings that had prevented the urgent and lifesaving travel of of patients and persons wounded during the war. PCHR reiterates its call upon the Special Rapporteur on the right to health and all international organizations, particularly WHO, to spare no efforts aimed at bringing an end to the suffering of thousands of Palestinian patients and wounded in a way that ensures their safe evacuation to receive immediate and urgent treatment.
• On 24 July, Al-Haq Centre for Applied International Law concluded its tenth International Law Summer School for 2024, which lasted two weeks. Participants learned about Al-Haq’s work on using international accountability mechanisms from its advocacy team and about spatial analysis techniques to pursue accountability from Al-Haq’s Forensic Architecture Investigation Unit (FAI). Partner civil society organizations held issue-specific sessions for participants, including on the status of Palestinian political prisoners, and on Palestinian women and children under occupation.
• On 24 July, Ir Amim issued a press release on the threat of forcible eviction of the Shehadeh family from their home in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan, by Israel’s Enforcement and Collection Authority. Ir Amim lamented the fact that similar evictions are taking place against the backdrop of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion and the provisions of international law prohibiting forced evictions and the transfer of settlers into occupied territory. The NGO called to spare no effort to compel Israel to comply with these provisions and to immediately halt the impeding evictions and safeguard the families’ rights to their homes, communities and city.
• On 23 July, Peace Now reported that the Israeli government had financed 68 illegal settler farms in the West Bank and 33 illegal outposts, using funds to pay for vehicles, drones, cameras, electric generators and gates. The IDF was involved in planning and approving the funds, including deciding which farms and outposts would receive funding. Peace Now denounced the effort as part of an ongoing campaign by the Israeli government to systematically expel Palestinians from their homes and lands in Area C in the West Bank.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 30 July, the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) quoted a UN report on arbitrary and secretive detention of thousands of Palestinians by Israeli authorities, since October 7. PRC said that the many of those detained and later released reported being subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment, including severe beatings and electrocution.
• On 29 July, Law for Palestine, in collaboration with Jadaliyya, held the panel discussion “Turning Ink Into Action: Unpacking the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Palestine and the Next Steps”, featuring International Law Professor Ardi Imseis, Former Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk, Lecturer Shahd Hammouri and Clinical Professor Susan Akram. The webinar analyzed the ICJ’s recent Advisory Opinion on the legality of the Israeli occupation of Poalestinian territories. The experts explored key legal findings and discussed the practical meaning and implications of this landmark rulings. It also sought to identify next steps and actions that can taken in response to the ICJ’s conclusions.

North America

• On 7 August, Americans for Peace Now will hold the webinar “Israel’s Annexation Revolution: with Shalom Achshav’s Lior Amihai”. The discussion is to examine Israel’s massive annexation effort since October 7 – displacing Palestinians, expanding existing settlements, and doubling the resources available to settlement, with the legalization of more than 70 illegal outposts along the way.
• On 23 July, Human Rights Watch issued the press release “Israel” Detainees Face Inhumane Treatment”, warning that Israeli authorities had for months turned a blind eye as members of their military published dehumanizing images and videos of Palestinians in their custody and that senior officials and military commanders can be held criminally responsible for ordering these crimes, or for failing to prevent or punish them, including at the International Criminal Court. HRW underlined that “victims have a right to justice and accountability, and any evidence of violence should be investigated urgently in a way that is thorough, credible and prioritizes needs, well-being and wishes of the survivors.”

United Nations

• On 31 July, OHCHR published the report “Detention in the Context of the Escalation of Hostilities in Gaza”, covering the situation from 7 October 2023 until 30 June 2024. The report indicates that reasonable grounds exist to believe that all duty bearers, and especially Israel and Palestinian armed groups as parties to the conflict in Gaza, have committed gross violations and abuses, in the context of detentions on and since 7 October 2023, of the rights to life, liberty and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment as well as from rape and other forms of gender-based violence, all of which may also amount to war crimes. OHCHR calls, among others, on the government of Israel to repress and punish all serious crimes under international law; and to ensure prompt, thorough, independent, impartial investigations into all incidents by the IDF that have led to serious violations of international law.
• On 30 July, UN Human Rights Experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territory Occupied Since 1967, issued a joint press release to call on Israel and other UN Member States to immediately comply with the authoritative determination by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory. “While the UN Security Council and General Assembly will consider strategies to ensure a swift end to the illegal occupation”, the experts said, “States must immediately review all diplomatic, political, and economic ties with Israel, inclusive of business and finance, pension funds, academia and charities.”
• On 30 July, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini issued a message concerning the fallen UNRWA colleagues in Gaza. The death toll of over 200 represents by far the largest number of personnel killed in a single conflict since the creation of the United Nations in 1945. He underlined the tragic milestone is testament – once again- that no place and no one is safe in Gaza and reiterated the call from the Secretary-General that the UN will spare no effort to demand accountability for the deaths of its staff.