NGO Action News – 01 December 2017

Global

• “Leave no One Behind – End Violence against Women” is the theme of the campaign spanning 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, from 25 November through 10 December. Leading Palestinian NGOs such as Al Mezan and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) have joined the global campaign.

• On 30 November, fifty organizations affiliated with the Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH) issued a joint statement in support of the UN database on business activities related to Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

• On 28 November, Human Rights Watch issued a press release “UN Settlement Business Data Can Stem Abuse”. The organization stated that ongoing illegal Israeli settlement activities in disregard of UN Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) highlighted the urgency of the United Nations publishing a database of businesses that had enabled or profited from settlements.

• During its meeting in Amman, Jordan, on 17-23 November, the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) issued a statement on Jerusalem and the status quo, expressing concern about threats posed to church institutions and properties by the combined effect of contracts of disputed legality, the activities of settlers and Israeli government policies.

Middle East

• On 1 December, Akevot Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research released the minutes of meetings held by the Committee of Director Generals on Civilian Matters in the Territories Administered between 1967 and 1977, the first decade of the occupation.

• On 28 and 30 November, Hamoked-Center for the Defence of the Individual reported that the Israeli High Court of Justice had rejected its petition to cancel a military order for a punitive house demolition in the West Bank town of Qabatiya and the request to consider the legality of the policy before an expanded panel of judges.

• On 29 November, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel urged the Israeli authorities to allow Gazan women with cancer to exit the Strip for medical treatment.

• On 27 November, Al Mezan reported that floods caused by heavy rains had damaged many homes in several areas of Gaza City. To enable Gazans to deal with the situation and prevent further damage, the organization called for intra-Palestinian reconciliation to be expedited and a lifting of the closure hindering reconstruction and development efforts.

• On 22 November, B’Tselem issued a press release expressing concern about the use of new mechanisms to accelerate the expulsion of Palestinian communities living on occupied territory, stating that “Israel is so confident of its ability to expel Palestinian communities that it no longer even bothers to create the illusion of legal proceedings.”

• In November, the Palestinian Peace Coalition-Geneva Initiative held a two-day seminar in Ramallah, focusing on the role of youth in bringing positive change to their society and politics.

• In relation to official requests to appoint a new journalist to manage the Palestinian A7Ia radio station, Al Haq has sent a letter to Palestinian Prime Minister Minister Rami Hamdallah, calling on the authorities to respect the freedom of the press in accordance with domestic and international law.

Europe

• Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has opened registration for “Cycle Palestine 2018”, a cycling tour of the West Bank scheduled to take place from 31 March to 8 April 2018.

• In a statement issued on 1 December, civil society leader and PLO Executive Member Hanan Ashrawi, criticized the 2017 Giro d’Italia cycling tour for presenting Jerusalem as a unified city under Israeli sovereignty. She expressed concern that this would serve to legitimize the illegal annexation of East Jerusalem. In an open letter of 21 November, the National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine (NCCO) and other Palestinian civil society groups had urged Pope Francis not to lend his name to the 2017 Giro d’Italia.

• On 29 November, the Chair of the EU Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Palestine, MEP Neoklis Sylikiotis, stated that the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People reminded the international community of its collective failure to deliver justice to Palestinians. He called for the temporary suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and the recognition of the State of Palestine by all EU Member States.

• The eve of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Cités Unies France (CUF), the French branch of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), organized in Paris the cultural event “Nuit des Amis de la Palestine”. The Rapporteur of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People delivered a statement.

• On 27 November, the Institut de Recherche et d’Études Méditerranée Moyen-Orient (iReMMO) organized in Paris a colloquium on Israel-Palestine “Que la France s’engage !” Diplomats, parliamentarians, academics, journalists and the directors of civil society organizations Al Haq and B’Tselem discussed avenues for France as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council and the European Union to advance a resolution of the question of Palestine. The video recording of the event will be posted next week on the iReMMO website.

North America

• On 28 November, the New School’s Alvin Johnson Auditorium in New York was sold out as nearly 500 people gathered to hear the panel “Antisemitism and the Struggle for Justice”. The discussion was moderated by Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) and featured Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Executive Director Rebecca Vilkomerson, Palestinian American activist Linda Sarsour, member of the Jews of Color and Mizrahi/Sephardi Caucus Lina Morales and Leo Ferguson from the Jews for Racial & Economic Justice movement.

• From 23 to 25 November, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) hosted in Chicago its 10th Annual Convention for Palestine in the US.

• Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) has strongly endorsed Rep. Betty McCollum’s Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act. Further information is available from Defence for Children International (DCI)-Palestine.

United Nations

• The video recordings of the Special Meeting to mark on 29 November the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at UN Headquarters in New York and statements delivered on the occasion, including by Amnesty International’s Secretary General Salil Shetty, are available online.

• On the margins of the sixth UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, held in Geneva on 27-29 November, Badil – Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights, Al Haq, Diakonia and Who Profits participated in a panel discussion on “Private Corporations and Violations of Palestinian Human Rights”. Topics discussed included the Israeli tourism industry, the exploitation of natural resources in the OPT and EU labelling guidelines for Israeli settlement products.