NGO Action News – 25 August 2017

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
25 August 2017

Global

• On 23 August, Amnesty International expressed concern about attacks on freedom of expression by Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza. In this context, Addameer issued on 20 August a factsheet “Behind a Firewall: Repercussions of the PA ‘Electronic Crimes Law’”.

Middle East

•  On 24 August, B’Tselem reported the demolition of a school serving 80 children in Jub a-Dib on the eve of the new school year as well as the demolition of other educational structures in the West Bank’s Area C.

• On 13 August, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported that the pollution of the Mediterranean Sea and a delayed medical referral might have caused the death of a five-year-old boy in Gaza. Calling for urgent action to resolve the electricity crisis, the organization concluded that “finding solutions to these problems is more efficient and effective than managing its catastrophic consequences.”

• Information on the 2017 “Know Thy Heritage” Leadership Programme of The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, which welcomed diaspora youth from seven countries “to explore and live” Palestine from 7 through 19 July, is available on the HCEF website.

Europe

• On 24 August, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) warned that the current situation in Gaza should be considered a “humanitarian emergency”.

• On 23 August, the Plateforme des ONGs Françaises pour la Palestine called for urgent action with regard to the reported arrest of French-Palestinian activist Salah Hamouri by Israeli forces the previous day in occupied East Jerusalem.

• On 19 August, World Photography Day, over 40 Portuguese photographers, teachers and students of photography reportedly pledged to refuse to collaborate with Israeli cultural institutions until the country complies with international law and respects Palestinian rights.

• Jewish Voice for Labour, a new network of Jewish members of the British Labour Party has been established. In its Statement of Principles, the group purports to stand for rights and justice for the Jewish people and to oppose wrongs and injustice against Palestinians, and upholds the right of supporters of justice for Palestinians to engage in solidarity activities, such as BDS.

North America

• In the context of its current “Summer Sunshine” Exhibition, Gallery Al-Quds at The Jerusalem Fund in Washington, D.C., will have on 27 August an Open House featuring work by new artists for sale as well as textiles and jewellery crafts.

• On 24 August, Al Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network policy member Zaha Hassan published a memo “The Policies Kushner Should Push For”.

United Nations

• In relation to the situation in Gaza, on 25 August, OCHA posted an overview of early warning indicators to monitor the evolution of the crisis, trigger humanitarian action and prevent further deterioration. To cover urgent needs in the Gaza Strip, on 24 August, US$ 2.5 million were released from the Humanitarian Fund for the OPT.

• The Chair’s Summary of the UN Forum to Mark Fifty Years of Occupation, which was hosted by the Committee on Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on 29 and 30 June in New York, is available in Arabic, English and Spanish.