NGO Action News – 30 December 2016

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.

• From 16 to 31 July 2017, the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD) is inviting internationals to participate in its 13th camp to rebuild a Palestinian home demolished by Israeli authorities.

• From 28 March to 2 April 2017, Amos Trust Palestine is organizing a Right to Movement marathon in Bethlehem, aimed at raising awareness of the fact that “you can’t run 26 miles in the ‘Little Town’ without going through a checkpoint.”

• As part of its ten-paper series on “Forced Population Transfer: The Case of Palestine”, on 28 December, Badil published its Working Paper No. 19 on Suppression of Resistance.

• On 23 December, DCI-Palestine reported that in 2016 Israeli forces killed 31 Palestinian children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year of the past decade for Palestinian minors living in the occupied West Bank.

• Calling on the international community to take practical steps to ensure its implementation, UN Security Council resolution 2334 of 23 December was welcomed by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights and other organizations represented in the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) and the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO).

• B’Tselem described on 23 December resolution 2334 as reaffirming the international consensus about the illegality of settlements. Stressing that the resolution was not “anti-Israel” but against the occupation, the organization expressed hope that further international measures would follow “for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians, and against the occupation.”

• The UK-based organization “Medical Aid for Palestinians” (MAP) is conducting a letter-writing campaign calling on citizens to raise with Members of Parliament issues related to the obstacles faced by Palestinian women in the OPT to access medical treatment to recover from breast cancer.

• On 25 January 2017, the Centre for Palestine Studies at Columbia University is hosting a conversation with author Ben Ehrenreich about his book “The Way to the Spring – Life and Death in Palestine”.

• On 29 December, Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director of US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, published in The Nation an article entitled “The Reason for Israel’s Hysterical Response to the UN Security Council Resolution”. Further analysis on the resolution was posted by Jews for Justice for Palestinianson 27 December under the title “Why Should Israel Care What UN Decides?”

• In a roundtable held under the auspices of Jadaliyya ezine, produced by the Arab Studies Institute in Washington, on 27 December, analysts Noura Erekat, Mouin Rabbani and Sherene Seikaly also shared reflections on Security Council resolution 2334.

• Under the theme “Protect Your Right to Boycott”, Palestine Legal, in cooperation with US Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Jewish Voice for Peace, will continue to provide updates on developments regarding specific anti-BDS legislation in the United States.

• On 23 December, the UN Security Council passed resolution 2334, reaffirming that settlements in the OPT including East Jerusalem have no legal validity and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution, demanding that Israel immediately and completely cease settlement activity and confirming its determination to examine practical ways to secure the full implementation of its resolutions. The resolution, adopted with 14 votes in favour and one abstention, was sponsored by New Zealand and three members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People: Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela.