NGO Action News – 26 December 2024

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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 23 December, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights issued a press release to condemn the repeated targeting of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza by Israeli forces. The NGO called for urgent and immediate action to protect patients and medical personnel and to ensure the ongoing operation of the hospital in an area where thousands of residents and IDPs face bombardment, starvation, and deprivation of healthcare and humanitarian services.
• On 22 December, Peace Now informed having documented the establishment in 2024 of at least seven Israeli outposts deep within Area B of the occupied West Bank. The NGO informed that settlers have applied significant pressure on the Israeli government to reduce Palestinian presence in Area C in recent years, adding that Israeli settlers have now begun efforts to displace Palestinians from Area B as well.
• On 20 December, BADIL published a press release criticizing the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/ES-10/L.32 titled “Supporting the Mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East [UNRWA]”. The NGO stressed that while the resolution expresses concern for the ongoing dismantlement campaign against UNRWA, and urges states to increase their voluntary contributions, it fails to call on states to implement specific and actionable measures to prevent Israel from enforcing its laws against UNRWA, stop its dismantlement campaign or hold it accountable.
• On 19 December, Adalah published the article “2024: the year in review”, in which the NGO recalled that Palestinians faced even greater destruction, overwhelming humanitarian crises and human rights violations by Israel, whether during the war in Gaza or due to a coercive environment in the occupied West Bank. The article also stressed the importance of the steps taken this year at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 20 December, Amnesty International published the document “Gaza report: Questions & Answers” to provide additional information on its previous report from 5 December on Israel’s actions during its offensive on the occupied Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. The NGO informed that the new report looks at the totality of available evidence in a holistic manner to assess whether Israel committed prohibited acts with the intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

North America

• On 23 December, the Foundation for Middle East Peace published the webinar “Phoenix of Gaza: a 360° view of Palestinian agency and life”, with Cal State University-San Bernadino Professor Ahlam Muhtaseb, the co-founder of the “Phoenix of Gaza XR”, an interactive virtual reality experience that captures the untold stories of Gaza’s people and its transformation. Participants discussed this project and how audiences are responding to it, as well as the relationship between technology and social justice.
• On 19 December, Human Rights Watch published the report “Israel’s Crime of Extermination, Acts of Genocide in Gaza”. According to the NGO, Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinians in Gaza of access to safe water for drinking and sanitation needed for basic human survival. The NGO concluded that Israeli authorities have intentionally created conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza in whole or in part.

United Nations

• On 23 December, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, issued a statement on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in which he said that North Gaza has been under a near-total siege for more than two months, raising the threat of famine. South Gaza is extremely overcrowded, creating horrific living conditions and even greater humanitarian needs as winter sets in, he added. The statement further reads that despite the massive humanitarian needs in Gaza, it has become almost impossible to deliver even a fraction of the aid that is so urgently required.
• On 20 December, the Bureau of the UN Palestinian Rights Committee issued a statement welcoming the General Assembly’s adoption of a timely and important resolution to urgently request an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the obligations of Israel in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, other international organizations and third States. The statement reads that the path to peace begins with justice, adding that this groundbreaking initiative spearheaded by Norway stood as a testament to the international community’s unwavering commitment to uphold human rights, international humanitarian law, and the urgent pursuit of justice for the Palestinian people.
• On 20 December, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, published the opinion-piece “UNRWA may be forced to stop saving lives in Gaza. Will the world let that happen?”. He warned that the agency may be forced to halt its work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory next month if legislation passed by the Israeli parliament is implemented. The laws would cripple the humanitarian response in Gaza and deprive millions of Palestine refugees of essential services in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. They would also eliminate a vocal witness to the countless horrors and injustices Palestinians have endured for decades.