NGO Action News – 18 July 2014

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
18 July 2014

EUROPE

• Association belgo-palestinienne, CNCD 11.11.11as well as several other NGOs will organize a national rally in solidarity with Palestine on 27 July 2014. For more information please contact abp.eccp@skynet.be.

• Le Centre national de coopération au développement (CNCD-11.11.11.), 11.11.11 and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) are still mobilizing for their Made in Illegality campaign through an online petition.

• Le Comité pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient is organizing on 19 July 2014 in Luxembourg City a silent vigil in solidarity with the Gaza Strip.

• The European Coordination Committee for Palestine (ECCP) organized an online action to show the new European Parliament that the people of Europe stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and against Israel’s collective punishment and attacks on the Gaza Strip.

• Medical Aid for Palestinians posted a news article on 18 July 2014 entitled Gaza – Working Under the Bombs.

• Palestinagruppen i Stockholm is organizing a rally in Stockholm on 20 July 2014 against the bombing of the Gaza Strip.

• The Palestine Solidarity Campaign is organizing a national protest entitled National demonstration for Gaza. Free Palestine! on 19 July 2014 in London, opposite 10 Downing street.

• Street Studies has invited a group of young Palestinian artists/street art artists to Denmark for a joint workshop with some of Denmark’s top names in graffiti and street art from 19 to 24 July 2014.

• The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) is organizing a youth journey for justice to the West Bank on 2-10 August 2014. The IPSC is also inviting its supporters to sign apetition calling on the Irish National Broadcaster to report on human rights violations in the OPT.

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

• Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights posted its most recent contribution to Gaza Diaries on 17 July 2014.

• B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories issued a press release on 16 July 2014 entitled Military demand to evacuate rehabilitative hospital in Gaza unlawful.

• Gisha – The Legal Centre for the Freedom of Movement set up a daily update of the situation in the Gaza Strip since 8 July 2014.

• The Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD) rebuilding camp will take place 3-18 August 2014 near Jerusalem. ICAHD is also organizing an alternative study tour in autumn this year. For more information please click here.

• Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) stated in a press release on 17 July 2014 that since the beginning of the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip on 7 July, 221 Palestinians were killed, of whom 179 civilians, including 45 children and 32 Women and 1,458 others wounded, mostly civilians, including 432 children and 298 women. As well,Raji Sourani, human rights lawyer and founder of PCHR, gave an interview published on 16 July 2014.

• The Palestinian BDS Movement issued a statement on 3 July 2014 entitled Israel must be held accountable for its collective punishment of Palestinians.

• The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC), a coalition of 12 Palestinian human rights organizations operating in the OPT, issued an open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 16 July 2014 concerning the hostilities in the Gaza Strip.

NORTH AMERICA

• The American Task Force of Palestine (ATFP) hosted a panel on Israeli-Palestinian War in a new Regional Landscape on 17 July 2014. A group of noted ATFP experts, including Executive Director Ghaith Al-Omari, looked at the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza militants, as well as significant tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel itself. Click on this link for further details.

• The Aspen Institute posted on 3 July 2014 Pathway to a State: Is it Possible?, a video of former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in conversation with New York Times’Thomas Friedman.

• The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) issued a statement on 16 July 2014 concerning the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip.

• Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is organizing a briefing call with Khaled Elgindy (Brookings Institution) on 22 July 2014. To receive a reminder and a post-event link to the briefing please click here.

• New America Foundation organized a panel entitled Israel, Gaza, and the Potential for a Diplomatic Resolution on 16 July 2014. The panel examined the connection between the ongoing political violence and the failure of the Kerry Initiative, as well as the chances for a ceasefire between Gaza and Israel in the near future. Click here for more information and watch the video of the event which featured Noura Erakat (human rights attorney and activist) and Samwer Badawi (+972 Magazine) among others.

• The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation will be holding its Annual National Organizers Conference in San Diego, CA, on 19-21September 2014. A programme has been posted online. The Campaign also invites its supporters to take action and tell their law-makers to oppose Israel’s attacks on Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip and work for an immediate ceasefire.

• The Voice of Palestine posted on 17 July 2014 a new interview with Samah Sabawi, a Palestinian playwright/poet and human rights advocate. She has written and produced several critically acclaimed plays as well as having co-authored the book Journey to Peace in Palestine (2010).

GLOBAL

• Art for Freedom the a global initiative to further freedom of expression created by Madonna, picked up on 14 July 2014 the video Everyday is 1967 produced with filmmakersJackie Salloum (Slingshot Hip Hop) and Suhel Nafar from the internally and critically acclaimed Palestinian hip-hop band DAM.

• AVAAZ launched a campaign calling for an end to investments in companies and projects that finance illegal settlements and the occupation of the Palestinian people.

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) published on 17 July 2014 a video of ICRC engineer Sara Badiei who talks about damage to water systems and how difficult it is to ensure people have drinking water in the Gaza Strip.

UNITED NATIONS

• The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) organized a special meeting on 9 July 2014 to mark the 10th anniversary of the rendering by the International Court of Justice of its Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Find more information here as well as the webcast archive of the event. Also, the CEIRPP Bureau issued a statement on the situation in the Gaza Strip on 11 July 2014.

• The International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People has a Twitter account and official hashtag #2014forPalestine. Share the word and let us know about your International Year plans at 2014forPalestine@un.org!

• OCHA OPT issued its most recent situation report on the Gaza Strip on 17 July 2014.

• The Spokesperson for the Secretary-General issued a statement on 17 July 2014 on the escalation in the Gaza Strip.

• The UN Security Council issued a statement on 12 July 2014 calling for Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire, protection of civilians.

• UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake released a statement on 13 July 2014 on the impact of violence on children in Gaza and Israel.

• UNRWA launched on 17 July 2014 an emergency appeal to answer to the Gaza crisis caused by the escalation of violence with Israel. UNRWA also posted on 9 July 2014 a video entitled A Decade of Illegality marking the 10th anniversary of the International Court of Justice issued Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.