NGO Action News – 26 September 2024

This newsletter informs about recent and upcoming activities of Civil Society Organizations working on the question of Palestine. The UN Palestinian Rights 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 previous 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 26 September, 7amleh will organise, in Geneva and online, a panel discussion titled “Tech Giants and Genocide: Exploring Complicity in Digital Spaces”. Participants will address the role of major tech platforms in human rights violations, incitement to violence, and genocide. Featuring Marwa Fatafta, MENA Policy Manager at Access Now; Fernanda Hopenhaym, Chair of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights; and Jalal Abukhater, Advocacy Manager at 7amleh, this event will discuss the role of companies like Meta, Google, X, Microsoft, and Amazon in the ongoing war on Gaza.
• On 24 September, Al-Haq published a joint statement from several civil society organizations calling on the United Nations member states to act against forced displacement in Gaza. The statement reads that the so-called ‘evacuation’ orders issued by Israel are causing catastrophic harm to the civilian population in Gaza, exacerbating the ongoing famine, and effectively besieging nearly 90% of the population in an area smaller than 11% of the total size of the Gaza Strip. The NGOs call for an end to these illegal displacement orders issued by Israel, the safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons at the earliest possible stage, urgent and unimpeded expansion of humanitarian aid, and an immediate and permanent ceasefire
• On 24 September, Al-Haq, Al Mezan and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights issued a statement calling on all states and international organisations to act without delay and take immediate, effective measures to ensure the full implementation of General Assembly resolution A/RES/ES-10/24, and the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion. The NGOs recalled that this resolution, adopted on 18 September, demands inter alia that Israel “brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory within no later than 12 months.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 25 September, the Norwegian Refugee Council alerted that over 1 million displaced Palestinians in central and southern Gaza urgently need shelter aid, including sealing-off kits, before winter arrives. Many of the tents and shelter materials provided by aid agencies throughout the last year are now unsuitable due to wear and tear. Replacements have been scarce, with few new tents entering Gaza in recent months. The article informed that the Shelter Cluster called on donor governments to demand that Israel urgently allow into Gaza these basic materials to weather-proof shelters before temperatures drop. Without assistance, families are at risk of hypothermia and other more severe health conditions.
• On 23 September, Amnesty International stated that the Israeli authorities shutdown of
  Al Jazeera’s Ramallah office was a blow to press freedom and an attempt by the Israeli government to limit reporting on their violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The NGO demanded that the Israeli authorities immediately revoke the order to shut down the Al Jazeera bureau and end their harassment, intimidation and obstruction of journalists and other media workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law.
• On 22 September, the Palestinian Return Centre issued a press release alerting that footage shared on social media showed Israeli troops pushing lifeless bodies from the roof of a house shortly after an Israeli military operation in a town near Jenin. The NGO condemned this latest attack and reiterated its call for the international community to cut ties with Israel until the latter respects Palestinian rights and self-determination.
• On 23 September, the Palestine Land Society reported that awards have been announced for the 8th Annual Reconstruction of Destroyed Palestinian Villages Competition. This year, 54 architectural students from 12 universities in Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon participated and produced reconstruction projects. For the first time, students from Gaza could not participate because of the ongoing war.
• On 20 September, over 160 European organisations, faith groups and trade unions launched a statement directed at the EU and its member states calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and all related agreements until Israel abides by international law and implements ICJ rulings and advisory opinions.

North America

• On 19 September, Human Rights Watch published an article on the July ICJ Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, calling it a landmark ruling. The NGO considers the ICJ’s findings as legally and morally persuasive and set out obligations on all states and on the United Nations itself. The article further reads that the court found that Israel should return land and other property seized since the occupation began in 1967, evacuate all settlers, allow all Palestinians displaced during the occupation to return to their original place of residence, and compensate everyone who suffered material damage.
• On 19 September, J Street issued a statement welcoming the introduction of the UNRWA Emergency Restoration Act of 2024, introduced by several U.S. parliamentarians and supported by 60 original cosponsors. This legislation would restore vital U.S. funding for UNRWA to prevent “further erosion of the civilian conditions in Gaza,” which remains in the “strategic and moral interests of the United States.” Americans for Peace Now also issued a statement.

United Nations

• On 23 September, OHCHR issued a press release stating that the Israeli military must stop attacking schools that provide the last shelter to Palestinians in Gaza as rains threaten to flood IDP tents. In the last three days before this statement, the Israeli military had struck three schools serving as shelters for IDPs. The press release further reads that all parties to the conflict have an obligation to respect and protect civilians.
• On 23 September, OCHA published a statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The signatories, representing international agencies and civil society organizations, stated that as world leaders gathered in New York for the 79th United Nations General Assembly and as the threat of a wider regional escalation loomed, they renewed their demand for an end to the appalling human suffering and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. They also urged world leaders to wield their influence to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law and the rulings of the International Court of Justice – through diplomatic pressure and cooperation in ending impunity.