NGO Action News – 20 June 2024

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Middle East

• On 4 June, Al-Shabaka published the commentary “The Enduring and Racist Trope of Palestinian Rejectionism”. The article argues that, “[s]ince the beginning of the Zionist project in Palestine, large efforts have been exerted to paint all resistance to its colonial endeavors as irrational and at odds with progress and modernity,” all the way until the current era and the war on Gaza after the 7 October 2023 attacks.
• On 10 June, Physicians for Human Rights issued the article “Israel is ignoring the ICJ’s order to stop the massacre in Rafah”. The NGO states that, despite warnings from other states and international groups, and the ICJ’s directive, Israel launched attacks on areas in Rafah it previously designated ‘safe zones’, therefore forcing over 900,000 displaced Palestinians to flee again, in addition to reportedly killing over 210 Palestinians (including 65 children and 36 women).
• On 14 June, Adalah informed that, following a hearing the day before on a petition filed by the NGO on behalf of the family of the late Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa, whose body has been withheld by Israeli authorities since his death in prison on 7 April, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the state to explain why it will not release his body. The family seeks the body of the deceased, the longest-serving prisoner, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, for immediate burial, in accordance with their religious customs and beliefs. The Israeli state must now provide this explanation by 15 July.
• On 18 June, Gisha shared the update “Thanks to our efforts, more Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship were evacuated from Gaza”, in which it informs that at the beginning of May 2024, 20 Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship, half of them children, were evacuated from Gaza through Rafah Crossing and that the end of the month, 12 more Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship were evacuated through Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Asia and Europe

• On 12 June, Diakonia International Humanitarian Law Centre published the report “Legality of Restrictions on the Freedoms of Expression, Assembly, and Association in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. In the publication, the NGO argues how “[i]n the wake of the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and the launch of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Israeli authorities have tightened their grip on the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
• On 13 June, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) published its third update on the situation in Gaza. In the publication, the NGO’s head of operations in Gaza stated that, “[w]e have all become so accustomed to images of brutality and destruction in Gaza that it has now become dangerously normalised. It is not normal for a whole population to live in constant fear and with overwhelming grief. It is not normal to feel your safety is at greater risk in a school or hospital than elsewhere. It is not normal for a community to bury hundreds of people each week.”
• On 16 June, Law for Palestine issued “Palestine’s Legal Scene” number 232, covering the
  9-15 June period. In this publication, the NGO provides a survey of important publications and activities related to Palestine and law, from local and international sources.
• On 17 June, the Palestinian Return Centre issued a briefing on the Israeli attacks on the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, in which reportedly 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 wounded, and during which Israeli forces allegedly conducted actions that UN Special Rapporteur Albanese then condemned as “humanitarian camouflage,” a crime of under international law.

North America

• On 13 June, Human Rights Watch issued the article “Israel Joins UN ‘List of Shame’ for Abuses Against Children in War”, in which the NGO highlights the inclusion of Israel, as well as Palestinian armed groups, in the 2024 UN Secretary-General Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict.

United Nations

• On 1 July, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will, jointly with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), hold the Symposium on the Question of Jerusalem “Jerusalem and the Gaza War: Palestinian Identity and Existence Under Threat of Erasure”, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Symposium will highlight Israel’s policies of forced displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem through accelerated “Judaization”, in the context of similar efforts elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), and particularly in light of the ongoing conflict in Gaza and onslaught and massive forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population. The event will also show the Committee’s support to the OIC call for international action to stop Israel’s war in Gaza and to relaunch the Middle East Peace Process based on international law and UN resolutions, which would lead to a comprehensive and sustainable peace as well as the independence of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.
• On 26 June, at 3 p.m., the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene a Committee Meeting in the Trusteeship Chamber at UNHQ in New York. At this meeting, the Committee will elect a Vice Chair of the Committee and Mr. Paul S. Reichler, a globally recognized figure in public international law, will brief the Committee. Mr. Reichler represented the State of Palestine at the recent proceedings at the International Court of Justice on the case regarding the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The meeting will be broadcast live on UN Web TV.