NGO Action News – 16 January 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 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 15 January, Addameer raised concerns over the conditions of detention by Israeli authorities of hundreds of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip since the beginning of what the NGO considers to be an ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. These detainees are held in camps and prisons that lack the most basic standards of human life. According to Addameer, detainees in Sde Teiman and Ofer military camps and Naqab prison, in particular, were subjected to extremely harsh conditions, including systematic torture, ill-treatment, and deliberate medical neglect, in blatant violation of all international conventions.
• On 14 January, Al-Haq informed that 75 human rights organizations, faith-based groups, legal associations, and academic institutions had sent an open letter to the US Congress and the incoming Administration decrying sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC). As Congress is scheduled to review this legislation among its first orders of business, the organisations urge parliamentarians to consider the consequences of the proposed sanctions, prompted by the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Gallant. They further stated that sanctioning the ICC or its officials would halt their work across all situations that are under its purview, including those critically important to the United States. Jewish Voice for Peace also published an article on this issue.
• On 14 January, Peace Now informed that the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court issued rulings in eviction proceedings brought by settlers against Palestinians in the neighbourhood of Baten Al-Hawa in Silwan, in East Jerusalem. The houses under threat are home to 27 families with 131 residents, most of them children, who must vacate their homes within 6 months. The eviction proceeding is part of a larger effort to forcibly displace an entire community of approximately 700 Palestinian residents from this neighbourhood and to establish an Israeli settlement.
• On 12 January, Al Mezan published the report “Reproductive Health Under Genocide: The Struggle of Palestinian Women in Gaza.” This report examines the near-total disruption of maternal healthcare directly caused by Israel’s destruction of hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, compounded by the lack of medical supplies, equipment, and electricity. According to the report, women – especially pregnant and nursing mothers – are deprived of critical prenatal, postnatal, and obstetric care, as well as essential nutritional support and hygiene products, putting their lives at grave risk.
• On 12 January, 7amleh expressed concerns about the new content moderation policies announced by Meta. The NGO stressed that while free expression was vital and must be upheld, Meta’s updates must prioritise protecting Palestinians as they are the most negatively affected group by its discriminatory policies. Without clear safeguards against incitement and systematic bias, these changes could usher in a more dangerous online environment for Palestinians, making it harder for them to exercise their rights to free speech and access to information.
• On 11 January, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights published a report on measures and policies taken by Israeli forces aimed at altering demographic dynamics in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. These actions include the establishment of new Israeli settlement outposts, and the expansion of existing settlements. The NGO stated that the Israeli authorities had recently intensified Palestinian home demolitions in Hebron, which has faced escalating attacks throughout 2024, including land confiscations, settlement expansion, the establishment of new agricultural settlement outposts, and the closure of Hebron’s Old City.
• On 10 January, Badil published a press release warning that new Israeli laws to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), are set to take effect at the end of January 2025. If the ban is realized, it will have devastating consequences on the ground, particularly in Gaza, and it will also impact Palestine refugees across the region. The NGO added that, most importantly, the elimination of UNRWA would bring closer the elimination of Palestinian refugees’ rights.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 13 January, the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine called for the EU-Israel Association Agreement to be suspended until Israel respects international law and human rights. The NGO coalition added that all the institutions of the EU, and all Member States, must assume their responsibilities and initiate the necessary procedures to ensure that this suspension takes effect as quickly as possible.
• On 9 January, the Palestinian Return Centre launched an international campaign titled “Hands-off-Doctors”, calling for an end to the systematic targeting of Gaza’s medical sector by Israeli forces and advocating for the immediate release of Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, along with other detained medical professionals. The report informed that 146 doctors have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, adding that international law unequivocally condemned attacks on medical facilities and personnel, recognizing them as war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.

North America

• On 16 January, the People’s Forum and Pal-Awda will give a presentation on the “Stolen Land Campaign”, a project that aims at countering the planned pattern of settler expansion and demolition of Palestinian homes in West Bank and Gaza.
• On 15 January, J Street welcomed reports that an agreement has been reached for a ceasefire and hostage deal that aims to release hostages held by Hamas and bring a permanent end to the war in Gaza. The NGO also urged the incoming US administration and regional partners to collaborate on the rapid development of a longer-term plan that resolves the underlying conflict between Israelis and Palestinians

United Nations

• On 15 January, Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement welcoming the announcement of a deal to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, and urged the parties and all relevant partners to seize this opportunity to establish a credible political path to a better future for Palestinians, Israelis, and the broader region. He added that the United Nations stood ready to support the implementation of this deal and scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief to the countless Palestinians who continue to suffer. Several other UN officials issued statements on this announcement as well, including Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Muhannad Hadi, who considered that this agreement was a critical first step, but that lasting peace required advancing broader goals, including Palestinian unity and a negotiated two-State solution where Israel and Palestine coexist in peace and security.
• On 15 January, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, gave a statement at the third meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, held in Oslo, Norway. He warned of the implications of the two Israeli laws aimed at ending UNRWA’s operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which will enter into force in two weeks. Full implementation of the laws will ban UNRWA from operating in the “sovereign territory of Israel” and ban contact between Israeli authorities and the Agency. For Israel, the “sovereign territory of Israel” includes occupied East Jerusalem, in contradiction to international law and related resolutions of the Security Council and General Assembly, he added.
• On 14 January, OCHA published the report “West Bank Monthly Snapshot – Casualties, Property Damage and Displacement – December 2024”. The report highlighted that between October 2023 and December 20242, 193 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank have been demolished by Israeli authorities, including 185 for the month of December 2024.