NGO Action News – 28 March 2024

Middle East

• On 28 March, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel published the report “The Consequences of Settler Violence and Forced Displacement on the Health and Wellbeing of Palestinian Communities in Area C”. The position paper explores how constant exposure to such routine violence is detrimental to the health of Palestinians, highlighting the social and psychological repercussions. The NGO called for immediate action to cease forced displacements of Palestinians in Area C, the restoration of their homes and the respect of their right to live with dignity and security, including to cultivate, graze, construct homes and infrastructure freely and to enjoy unimpeded access to natural, social and political resources.
• On 27 March, Gisha – Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement issued the update “Gaza Now: Current Facts and Figures”, denouncing the electricity backout in Gaza’s electricity grid and the dire need for more fuel. Gisha also details the policy of starvation by Israel with the entire population being at risk of famine and dehydration. The update also highlights Israel’s violation of its obligation to provide for all the needs of Gaza’s civilian population, by refusing to implement measures to immediately alleviate the dire situation and by impeding the efforts of aid organisations.
• On 27 March, Peace Now denounced the intention of the Israeli Civil Administration to include Ahiya outpost within the jurisdiction of the Shilo settlement, in the occupied West Bank, allowing planning for the regularization of the outpost to begin under Israeli law. It adds that an agreement was signed between Minister Smotrich and Minister Galant a year ago to grant the Settlement Administration the authority to approve outposts as new neighborhoods of nearby settlements, without approval from the security cabinet.
• On 25 March, Al-Haq Centre for Applied International Law announced its summer school programme for 2024. The programme is designed for law graduate, legal researchers and professionals in the fields of international law and human rights. This year, the programme will take place on-site in Ramallah, on 1-13 July.
• On 22 March, the Palestinian human rights organisations, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Al Mezan and Al-Haq, issued a report on Israel’s crimes and violations of Palestinians’ rights in the West Bank in January and February 2024. The report highlights a number of monitored and documented crimes and violations committed by the Israeli forces and settlers against the Palestinian people and their properties, including the violation of the right to life and bodily integrity, attacks on medical personnel, raids and arrests, demolition and land-razing, settler violence, and the restriction on freedom of movement and checkpoints.
• On 22 March, Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights issued a press release on World Water Day, criticizing the severe water restrictions imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people in Gaza. It called for the ending of Israel’s 17-year blockade and closure of Gaza and the dismantle of its illegal occupation, ensuring the full and unimpeded supply of water into the Gaza Strip; imposing sanctions and arms embargoes on Israel; and holding corporations domiciled in their jurisdiction accountable for pillage of Palestinian water in the OPT and water apartheid.
• On 21 March, Al-Haq issued a press release to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It states that this year, Palestinians mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination while over two million Palestinians in Gaza endure Israel’s military campaign that resulted in the killing of at least 31,800 Palestinians and the injury of another 74,000. Al-Haq adds that “it is crucial to recognize that apartheid and genocide are taking place in the context of Israel’s settler colonialization of the Palestinian territory” and that “the dismantlement of Israel’s settler-colonial apartheid regime must involve the immediate end to the occupation, and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes.”

Asia and Europe

• On 26 March, the Palestinian Return Centre issued a situation report on Israel’s war on Gaza for the month of February 2024. The report sheds light on the political and humanitarian aftermaths along with the material and human loss inflicted on the Strip as a result of the Israeli strikes and siege, impeding Gazans’ access to humanitarian assistance.
• On 26 March, Amnesty International welcomed the new report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, which concludes there are “reasonable grounds to believe the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide is met”. Amnesty echoes calls made in the report to ensure that UNRWA is fully funded and to operate across all of Gaza – including in northern Gaza. It also calls for an enduring ceasefire as the best way to enforce the ICJ’s provisional measures to prevent genocide and further crimes and civilian suffering.
• On 21 March, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR) joined 28 UK organisations as signatory to a Times advert calling for urgent action asking the UK Government to do more to prevent more death, destruction and degradation in Gaza. It calls for Ms to support an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the resumption of funding to UNRWA and to insist on unfettered humanitarian access to ensure aid reaches all areas of Gaza without hindrance.

North America

• On 26 March, J Street called on Biden administration to comply with National Security Memorandum-20 requirements. It calls to initiate immediate steps to evaluate and address potential Israeli violations and reminds that credible reporting regarding Israeli conduct during the war in Gaza is sufficient to trigger the 45-day assessment and remediation procedure. It adds that the US administration, having developed and articulated this framework, must now live to the values and standards it has itself established for all countries receiving US military aid.
• On 25 March, Americans for Peace Now (APN) issued a press release welcoming the passage of the UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan that would lead to a lasting and sustainable ceasefire. It also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
• On 22 March, Foundation for Middle East peace (FMEP) issued its Settlement and Annexation report on recent Israeli settlement activities in the Jordan Valley. FMEP also reported on the petition filed by the Israeli anti-settlement Torat Tzedek and five Palestinian landowners with the High Court of Justice seeking the demolition of an outpost affiliated with US-sanctioned settlers.

United Nations

• On 3 and 4 April in Geneva, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) will hold a conference with civil society organizations working on the question of Palestine titled “Building bridges with international civil society to address the ongoing Nakba.” Further details of the conference as well as information on how to register are available here.
• On 28 March, the International Court of Justice indicated additional provisional measures in the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip, in the case South Africa v. Israel. In its Order, the Court observes that, since 26 January 2024, “the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated further, in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which Palestinians in the Strip have been subjected” and concludes that the provisional measures in the previous Order do not fully address the consequences arising from the changes in the situation and requests a medication of these measures.
• On 25 March, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 Francesca Albanese published her report under Item 7 of the Human Rights Council. In the report, she addresses the crime of genocide as perpetrated by Israel in Gaza since 7 October 2023, based on data and analyses from organisations on the ground, international jurisprudence, investigative reports and consultations with affected individuals, authorities and civil society. The context, facts and analysis presented in this report lead to the conclusion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide is met.
• On 20 March, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) published the video “UN Lecture on 100 Years of Balfour Declaration by Prof. Rashid Khalidi”. The video is from a lecture organized on the Balfour Declaration and the impact it has had on the Palestinian people.