NGO Action News – 20 February 2017

NGO Action News
 20 February 2017

Middle East

• On 20 February, Adalah and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) issued a press release expressing concern about a Knesset bill that, if approved, would prevent foreign non-residents who have publicly expressed support for BDS from entering Israel.

• On 20 February, B’Tselem published the accounts of Palestinian women setting out the impact of Gaza’s electricity crisis on their daily lives (“Winter 2017: Living without electricity just an hour and a half away from Tel Aviv”).

• On 19 February, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza organized a roundtable with representatives of political parties and civil society organizations which concluded that “holding elections in Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously is a legal and national necessity”.

• On 15 February, B’Tselem reported threats by Israeli soldiers against residents of Kafr Qadum village, west of Kedumim settlement near Nablus, warning them not to participate in the weekly protests against access restrictions.

• On 13 February, B’Tselem released a new interactive documentary (“The Invisible Walls of Occupation”) leading viewers on a virtual tour of the West Bank village of Burqah with a focus on settlements and settler violence. The documentary is based on a B’Tselem case study by the same name.

Europe

• On 28 February, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is hosting a talk on Palestine and International Humanitarian Law with author David Mc Dowell.· On 16 February the Palestinian Return Centre launched a petition as part of its Balfour Apology Campaign (BAC) calling on the British Government to apologise for the Balfour Declaration and lead peace efforts in Palestine.

• From 25 to 28 February, J-Street will hold its 2017 National Conference under the theme “Defending our Values, Fighting for our Future”.· On 13 February, 160 participants from across the United States completed the second webinar of the “Conversations on Palestine” series jointly organized by BADIL and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). The webinar series is intended to raise awareness and enhance BADIL’s relationship with civil society and social justice movements in the United States.