NGO Action News – 13 February 2025

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This newsletter informs about recent and upcoming activities of Civil Society Organizations working on the question of Palestine. 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.

You may find previous issues of the NGO Action News in Spanish here.

You may find issues of the NGO Action News in French here.

You may find issues of the NGO Action News in Arabic here.

Middle East

• On 18 February, the Amman Global Center and the Columbia University Center for Palestine Studies will organize in Amman, Jordan, the event “Preoccupations: whatever happened to Prehistory in Palestine?” Brian Boyd, co-Director of the Center for Palestine Studies, will examine the near-total absence of prehistoric research in contemporary archaeology of Palestine, and archaeology’s role in shaping the understanding of history and its links to the present time.
• On 9 February, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights published a report informing that Israeli forces had continued their widescale military assault on the northern occupied West Bank amid airstrikes, killings, destruction, and mass arrests. According to the NGO, this campaign mirrors the genocide committed in the Gaza Strip for over 15 months with an escalation of assaults and the destruction of homes and facilities across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. During this campaign 44 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far, including 18 civilians, among them 5 children.
• On 6 February, Peace Now published the report “2024 in the West Bank – The Year of Annexation and Expulsion”. The NGO informed that 2024 was characterized by a policy of reducing Palestinian space in Areas B and C of the occupied West Bank and expanding Israeli presence in these areas. This policy is being carried out through the establishment of a record number of illegal outposts, unprecedented road construction, a sharp rise in the quantity and intensity of settler violence as well as road closures for Palestinians, and a record pace of legalizing and funding illegal Israeli outposts.
• On 6 February, Gisha published the article “Like taking the soul out of the body”, highlighting that Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip had had unique and particularly severe repercussions for people living with physical, mental, sensory, or cognitive disabilities, whether temporary or permanent. Beyond massive bombardments and destruction, recurring displacement, acute shortages caused by restrictions on entry of goods and equipment, and a decimated healthcare system made the lives of people with disabilities in Gaza unbearably difficult and exposed them to a heightened risk of injury and death. The NGO added that international law requires all parties to a conflict to protect people with disabilities and ensure that they have adequate access to humanitarian assistance.
• 29 January, 7amleh released its annual report, “Hashtag Palestine 2024”, which highlights the repercussions of the Israeli war on Gaza that lasted over 15 months, and the systematic violations of Palestinian digital rights. The report revealed how Israel utilized digital tools as part of its war strategy, including the weaponization of artificial intelligence, leading to the shrinking of Palestinian digital spaces.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 10 February, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor published an article informing that the latest Israeli military campaign against Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank forcibly displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians. According to the article, the goal of the offensive, which is occurring in Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps, is to drive the Palestinians from their homes and establish new realities that defy international law. The NGO called on the international community to uphold the Palestinian people’s rights to freedom and dignity; support their right to self-determination, in line with international law. Association France Palestine Solidarité published an article (in French) on this topic as well.
• On 7 February, Al-Haq published an article welcoming the resolution by the Brussels Region-Capital Assembly, on 3 February, placing an arms embargo and trade restrictions on Israel, in fulfilment of the recommendations of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) finding Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to be unlawful, and in response to Israel’s continued genocide in Gaza.

North America

• On 22 February, the Institute for Palestine Studies and The Jerusalem Fund will organize a screening and a lecture in Washington, D.C., on the executions and mass graves in the Palestinian villages of Tantura and al-Dawamiya, led by Shourideh Molavi, lead Palestine investigator of the research group Forensic Architecture following the launch of a series of investigative projects analyzing the available visual and cartographic evidence of Israeli massacres of Palestinians in and around 1948.
• On 12 February, Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights, alongside other human rights organizations, sent an urgent appeal to the negotiating parties to the conflict in Gaza requesting the immediate release of all unlawfully detained medical personnel. The NGOs informed that, since the beginning of the hostilities in October 2023, the Israeli military had detained without charge hundreds of essential healthcare staff in Gaza, adding that these detentions have devastated Gaza’s already decimated healthcare system.
• On 10 February, the Institute for Palestine Studies published an article on an event organized for the reading of the book “Sumūd: A New Palestinian Reader” at New York University. Panelists Lina Mounzer and Mosab Abu Toha, two of the book’s featured authors, spoke about steadfastness as a cultural value of everyday Palestinian resistance and creativity before, during, and in the aftermath of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. According to the NGO, “Sumūd”, an anthology of short essays, memoirs, poems, and art from over 300 contributors, exemplifies the Palestinian struggle for liberation by bringing voice to writers and journalists from a variety of different backgrounds.

United Nations

• On 10 February, UNRWA issued a statement alerting that the forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the northern occupied West Bank was escalating at an alarming pace. Since the start of operation “Iron Wall” by the Israeli Forces on 21 January, several refugee camps have been nearly emptied of their residents. The military operation, ongoing for nearly three weeks, is now the single longest in the West Bank since the Second Intifada. UNRWA added that starting in Jenin Camp, the operation has now expanded to Tulkarm, Nur Shams, and El Far’a refugee camps and led to the displacement of 40,000 Palestine refugees.
• On 5 February, the newly elected Bureau of Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People held a press conference to reaffirm the Committee’s unwavering commitment to Palestinian rights. The Bureau also condemned the excessive and indiscriminate use of force by Israeli forces in the OPT and highlighted its 2025 Programme of Work priorities.