NGO Action News – 30 January 2025

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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 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 29 January, Al Haq called on the international community to ensure the protection of Palestinians following increased Israeli military operations and settler violence in the occupied West Bank. The NGO warned that the ongoing military aggression in Jenin and Tulkarem governorates was taking place in the context of at least three years of escalating violence in the West Bank. It added that Israel was employing in Jenin and Tulkarem the same unlawful methods it used in Gaza, particularly attacks on hospitals and health care facilities, and the use of excessive and indiscriminate force, causing extensive destruction.
• On 28 January, Al Mezan issued a press release rejecting any proposal or notion of forcibly transferring the Palestinian population out of Gaza, emphasizing that such actions are not only illegal under international law but also represent a treacherous continuation of the historic and ongoing Nakba inflicted upon the Palestinian people. The NGO called on the United States to immediately stop advancing or endorsing proposals for the forcible transfer of Palestinians from Gaza, as such actions would amount to the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer.
• On 26 January, Peace Now informed that the Israeli Higher Planning Council had discussed the advancement of 682 housing units in the illegal Israeli settlements of Halamish, Mitzad, and Peduel, in the occupied West Bank. In the case of Halamish, the plan to advance
  531 housing units means more than doubling the number of settlers. The NGO added that the Higher Planning Council had approved 12,349 housing units in 2023, which had been an all-time high. In 2024, another 9,884 housing units were approved. The article also stressed that the transition to approving plans on a weekly basis not only normalizes construction in these territories but also intensifies it.
• On 25 January, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights published an article accusing Israeli authorities of obstructing humanitarian aid to Gaza. The article goes on to say that Israeli forces did not confront armed looters in the areas under its control. The NGO also documented that Israeli forces targeted security protection teams accompanying humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza, further exacerbating chaos, crime, and the humanitarian crisis.
• On 25 January, Addameer informed that Israel has released 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of the second batch of the first phase of the exchange deal included in the ceasefire agreement. According to the agreement and the announcement, 107 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and long prison terms were released to the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, while 20 prisoners were released to the Gaza Strip, 71 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment were forcibly exiled to Egypt, and two prisoners were released inside Israel.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 28 January, the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network urged the Australian government to take decisive action against Israel’s imminent ban on UNRWA, set to take effect on
  30 January. According to the NGO, this attack on the UN agency threatens not only Palestinian lives, but the integrity of the entire international system. The ban would forcibly halt UNRWA’s life-saving operations across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including clinics serving almost 900,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and 1.2 million Palestinians in Gaza; and schools serving more than 350,000 children across Palestine.
• On 23 January, the Norwegian Refugee Council published an article to raise alarm about the escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, which has intensified following the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Israeli military operations and a surge in settler attacks have heightened insecurity, displacement, and severe restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement. The NGO urgently called for measures to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure unimpeded humanitarian assistance. Association France Palestine Solidarité issued a statement (in French) raising concerns as well over the increase in violence and colonization of the West Bank by Israeli authorities and settlers.
• On 22 January, the Palestinian Return Centre announced the opening of the registration for its upcoming international conference, “Naming Genocide: The Global Responsibility for Gaza”, to take place on 22 February in London. The event will bring together leaders, legal experts, advocates, and voices from Gaza to discuss the ongoing crisis and the urgent need for international accountability.

North America

• On 28 January, Human Rights Watch published the report “Five Babies in One Incubator: Violations of Pregnant Women’s Rights Amid Israel’s Assault on Gaza”. The report found that Israeli forces’ unlawful blockade of the Gaza Strip, its severe restrictions on humanitarian aid, and attacks on medical facilities and healthcare personnel have directly harmed women and girls during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
• On 23 January, the Foundation for Middle East Peace hosted the webinar “Genocide and self-involvement: on being Israeli as Israel commits a historic crime”. Israeli author, academic, and political commentator Ori Goldberg discussed how Israeli society reckons with Palestinians, with committing the war in Gaza, and with the centrality of the military in Israeli society.

United Nations

• On 5 February, the UN Committee for Palestinian Rights will organize, at 3 p.m. in the ECOSOC Chamber at UN headquarters, its first annual meeting to elect the Committee Bureau and adopt the annual Programme of Work. As per usual procedure, Secretary-General Guterres will participate and preside over the Bureau elections. The meeting will include briefings by Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, and Hani Almadhoun, co-founder of the NGO Gaza Soup Kitchen. Discussions and proceedings will be livestreamed on UN Web TV.
• On 30 January, two emergency room physicians briefed the Bureau of the Palestinian Rights Committee on their recent field experience in Gaza. Participants discussed the current health emergency in Gaza and its impact upon children, as well as the measures to be implemented urgently to rehabilitate the medical facilities and essential infrastructure.
• On 24 January, the Vice-Chair of the UN Committee for Palestinian Rights and Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Ahmad Faisal Muhamad, delivered a statement to the Security Council at its quarterly open debate on the question of Palestine. Ambassador Faisal Muhamad stated that the Committee applauded the ceasefire in Gaza, while also finding it disheartening that Israeli airstrikes continued even after, causing additional casualties and undermining the agreement. He added that UNRWA’s role remained indispensable in delivering aid and crucial lifesaving services at the scale required.
• On 23 January, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, briefed the Security Council on the plight of children in the Gaza Strip, stating that conservative estimates indicate that over 17,000 children are without their families in Gaza. Mr. Fletcher informed that the United Nations and partners have been able to increase the flow of supplies and deliveries to Gaza since the ceasefire, scale up storage capacity and repair work, provide life-saving services, and carry out needs and damage assessments.