NGO Action News – 31 October 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.

• On 29 October, Al Haq, Al Mezan and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported that the Israeli parliament had passed, on 28 October, two laws explicitly designed to de facto ban the operations and essential services of UNRWA throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The NGOs asserted that this constituted the latest escalation of Israel’s decades-long campaign to dismantle UNRWA and undermine the inalienable right of return of the Palestinian people. Badil and Adalah issued press releases on this issue as well.
• On 29 October, 7amleh released the report “Gaza Telecommunications Infrastructure: Assessment of Damages and Humanitarian Impact”. The NGO informed that the telecommunications sector in Gaza had experienced widespread destruction, caused by the ongoing war, significantly affecting the lives of citizens in Gaza and disrupting essential services. The report includes insights into the damage inflicted on communication towers and the fibre optic infrastructure responsible for providing internet services. On a related topic,
  Al Shabaka published a webinar on Israel’s systematic assault on civilian infrastructure across Gaza.
• On 27 October, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemned the Israeli Defense Forces raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, forcing it out of service and risking the lives of patients, the injured, and medical personnel. The NGO asserted that Israel’s repeated and ongoing attacks on the three main hospitals in northern Gaza forcing them to stop the provision of lifesaving health services for the civilians besieged in those areas constitute a crime of genocide by imposing deadly conditions that deprive North Gaza residents of even the most basic health and human rights after the total collapse of the healthcare system.
• On 23 October, Gisha provided an update on the status of a petition filed to the Israeli High Court, together with Adalah, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked, and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. The organisations informed that, in its response to this petition, the State had admitted that for two weeks it had deliberately and knowingly prevented the entrance of humanitarian aid to the protected population in the north of the Gaza Strip and that it continued to withhold aid even now from the residents of Jabalia.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 29 October, Amnesty International criticised the decision of the Israeli parliament to ban UNRWA’s operations in the OPT. The NGO’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, stated that this law was an outright attack on the rights of Palestine refugees, an attack clearly designed to make it impossible for the agency to operate in the OPT by forcing the closure of UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem and ending visas for its staff. It amounts to the criminalization of humanitarian aid and will worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The Palestinian Return Center, and the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, among other organisations, published articles on this topic as well.
• On 29 October, Agence Média Palestine published an article (in French) raising awareness about the increasing settler violence against Palestinian Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank. The article goes on to say that settler violence is part of a system aiming at displacing these communities while illegal Israeli settlements are expanding.
• On 24 October, the Norwegian Refugee Council published a joint statement from more than 150 NGOs worldwide calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel, and an end to impunity amid a spiralling humanitarian catastrophe and escalating regional conflict. The organisations stated that all Member States must prevent further atrocities and ensure that those responsible for any violations of international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, are held accountable.

North America

• During the reporting period, several NGOs in North America raised their concerns about the new Israeli legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and blocking coordination with the organization in Gaza and the West Bank. J Street issued a statement calling the new legislation morally and strategically inexplicable and asked the Biden Administration to press the Israeli government to change course. Human Rights Watch also criticised this law, considering that dismantling UNRWA would be catastrophic for Palestinians especially in Gaza and the West Bank as they are deprived of essentials such as food, water, medical aid, education, and protection. Americans for Peace Now published an article on this topic as well.
• On 8 November, The Jerusalem Fund will organise its 2024 Annual Conference, this year under the title “Gaza Genocide and the Continuation of the Nakba”. Panel discussions will explore the role of Palestinian unity in mobilizing for liberation, as well as the critical role of media in enabling what organisers consider to be a genocide.

United Nations

• On 31 October, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People organized the briefing “International legal responsibilities for preventing genocide, holding perpetrators of war crimes accountable, and for ending the unlawful occupation of Palestine”. The briefing featured presentations by the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territory Occupied Since 1967, Francesca Albanese; and on the Right to Health, Tlaleng Mofokeng; as well as a Commissioner of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, Chris Sidoti. These briefings addressed their recent reports to the UN General Assembly and recent developments, including the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice in July. The Committee also heard from representatives of the Independent Commission for Human Rights of Palestine, Diana Buttu; and the NGO “Law for Palestine”, Anisha Patel.
• On 29 October, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, briefed the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East. He urged all parties to engage constructively in urgent diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation and avoid an endless spiral of death and destruction. Mr. Wennesland also recalled that as the focus remained on Gaza and the escalating violence in the region, the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was also deteriorating.
• On 27 October, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General warned that the widespread devastation and deprivation resulting from Israel’s military operations in North Gaza – especially around Jabalya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun – were making the conditions of life untenable for the Palestinian population there. He added that the parties to the conflict must respect and protect civilians, including humanitarian workers and first responders whose vital work must be facilitated and protected – not impeded and jeopardized.