NGO Action News – 4 June 2026

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.

Middle East 

• On 3 June, Adalah issued a press release announcing that it has demanded Israel immediately halt a new plan to issue additional tenders for natural gas exploration in maritime areas off the coast of Gaza, arguing that Israel has no legal authority to operate there. The organization states that roughly 1,000 square kilometers of the designated exploration zones fall inside the Palestinian exclusive economic zone, making the move an unlawful exploitation of resources belonging to the Palestinian people and a violation of their right to self‑determination. Adalah emphasizes that international humanitarian law prohibits an occupying power from extracting resources for its own benefit. 
• On 3 June, Addameer welcomed the UN Secretary‑General’s decision to place Israel on the UN blacklist for conflict‑related sexual violence, calling it an important but long‑overdue acknowledgment of abuses against Palestinian detainees, while stressing that it falls far short of real accountability. It details extensive evidence of torture, sexual assault, humiliation, enforced disappearance, medical neglect, and lethal detention conditions – violations it says have sharply escalated since October 2023. The NGO calls for independent international investigations, prosecutions at the International Criminal Court, and the imposition of effective sanctions to end what it describes as decades of impunity.
• On 31 May, Peace Now informed that a new Knesset bill to create a “Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority” would amount to the most far‑reaching act of de facto annexation since 1967 by transferring control over all archaeology and antiquities in the occupied West Bank, and potentially Gaza, from the military-run Civil Administration to Israel’s civilian Ministry of Heritage. The proposed authority would have sweeping powers to excavate, manage, and expropriate land at archaeological sites across Areas A, B, and C, overriding the Oslo framework and undermining Palestinian jurisdiction.
• On 28 May, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights warned that Israel’s talk of a “ceasefire” is an illusion masking the continuation of policies that amount to genocide, apartheid, and forced displacement of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, where ongoing military operations, mass starvation, and systematic destruction of civilian life persist despite diplomatic language suggesting de-escalation. The NGO emphasizes that Israel’s action, including blocking aid, targeting civilians, expanding settlements, and pursuing legal measures like special tribunals, demonstrate an intent to permanently fragment and depopulate Palestinian society.
• On 22 May, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) condemned Israel’s creation of a special military tribunal empowered to impose the death penalty on Palestinians, calling it an illegal, discriminatory, and openly punitive measure that violates international law and facilitates further atrocity crimes. PHROC says the tribunal’s structure, lowered evidentiary standards, political rhetoric surrounding its creation, and its placement under the Defense Minister’s authority all point to a system intended to produce predetermined outcomes and further entrench apartheid. It calls on the international community to impose sanctions, enact an arms embargo, and support accountability mechanisms such as the ICC and ICJ.
• On 22 May, Al-Haq urged the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) to ensure that its forthcoming General Comment on the application of the ICESCR in armed conflict fully addresses how economic, social, and cultural rights apply under conditions of occupation, apartheid, and genocide, drawing on recent International Court of Justice advisory opinions that reaffirm these rights as integral to self‑determination and to assessing the illegality of Israel’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territory.
• On 21 May, Al-Haq issued a statement warning that Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich’s threat to forcibly evacuate the Palestinian community of Khan al-Ahmar demonstrates Israel’s ongoing impunity and escalating violations of international law, including forced displacement, settlement expansion, apartheid, and potentially genocide. The organization stresses that such displacement has long been recognized as a war crime and may indicate genocidal intent, citing past ICC and ICJ findings. Al-Haq argues that the international community has failed to enforce its legal obligations despite clear guidance from the ICJ and UN resolutions, enabling continued collective punishment of Palestinians.
• On 16 May, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights published its 2025 Annual Report. The latter describes an unprecedented collapse of human rights conditions across the OPT, detailing ongoing mass killing, destruction, starvation, and coercive living conditions in Gaza that it characterizes as part of a continuing genocide, alongside intensified Israeli military operations and settler violence in the occupied West Bank that it says amount to ethnic cleansing. The report documents large‑scale raids, home demolitions, forced displacement, and widespread torture and sexual violence against detainees, including women and children. It also highlights sanctions imposed in 2025 on PCHR, Al‑Haq, and Al Mezan for their work with the International Criminal Court, arguing these measures aim to undermine accountability efforts even as ICC arrest warrants have been issued for senior Israeli officials. 

Africa, Asia and Europe 

• On 3 June, Amnesty International’s release announced that it has joined a coalition of Belgian human rights groups in filing a criminal complaint against FedEx Belgium for the unlawful transit of U.S.-origin arms, specifically F‑35 fighter‑jet components, through Liège Airport to Israel, arguing the company violated Walloon licensing laws and contributed to weapons transfers used in the Gaza war. The NGO stresses that international law obligates states and companies to prevent arms transfers where there is a clear risk of serious violations, citing the ICJ’s 2024 advisory opinion and the Arms Trade Treaty, and warns that Belgian authorities’ failure to enforce regulations enables a pattern of illegal shipments.
• On 1 June, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) issued a story following children in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, who try to carve out moments of joy despite living under constant threat of Israeli settler and military violence. It describes a small community kindergarten where teachers and parents work to give kids a sense of normalcy, through play, songs, and celebration, even as families face home demolitions, roadblocks and school closures. NRC underscores the urgent need for protection and humanitarian support as violence and restrictions continue to intensify. 
• On 20 May, the Association Belgo-Palestinienne (ABP) informed of its commemoration of 78 years since the Nakba, where hundreds gathered to denounce the ongoing displacement and violence faced by Palestinians and to affirm that the Nakba is not a past event but a continuing process. Speakers from Belgian civil society, Palestinian organizations, and solidarity groups condemned Israel’s current military assault on Gaza, settlement expansion, while also criticizing European governments for complicity through arms sales. 

North America 

• On 29 May, the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) podcast episode was a conversation between Ahmed Moor and Omar Shakir about DAWN’s new report on AIPAC, focusing on how the organization operates as a powerful political force through a “revolving door” with US and Israeli government institutions. They discuss how AIPAC shapes U.S. policy, influences public discourse, and mobilizes vast financial resources to support candidates aligned with its agenda.
• On 27 May, Human Rights Watch issued a statement urging the UN Human Rights Council to establish a standing Commission of Inquiry to address both immediate violations and the root causes of recurring violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. It argues that decades of military occupation, systematic discrimination, land seizures, settlement expansion, and the confinement of Palestinians amount to apartheid and persecution, which HRW identifies as crimes against humanity. The organization stresses that without ending impunity, particularly the political shielding of Israeli authorities by powerful states, cycles of violence will continue. HRW calls on the Council to take a principled stand, confront structural abuse, and ensure accountability for violations by all parties.
• On 19 May, Human Rights Watch issued the news release “Gaza: Israel Curbs Aid, Kills Civilians During Ceasefire,” stating that humanitarian infrastructure in Gaza remained in peril more than six months after the October 2025 ceasefire agreement. The organization linked aid access, medical care and civilian protection to the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan and forthcoming Security Council discussions.
• On 15 May, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) reflected on The Voice of Hind Rajab, an Oscar‑nominated documentary‑drama that forces viewers to confront the human reality of the war in Gaza through the final hours of 5‑year‑old Hind Rajab, who was trapped in a car surrounded by her dead relatives after Israeli fire. Ultimately, it frames the documentary as a call to “walk with the excluded” and to act for justice, echoing Hind’s mother’s plea that her daughter’s voice moves the world to recognize that Gaza’s children have the right to live, grow, and dream like any others. 

United Nations 

• On 4 June, the Bureau of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People condemns Israel’s order to begin evicting the Palestinian community of Khan al‑Ahmar, warning that the move constitutes forcible transfer, a war crime under international law. The Bureau reiterates that the eviction and the broader E1 settlement plan entrench Israel’s illegal occupation, advance de facto annexation, and violate the territorial integrity and unity of the occupied Palestinian territory, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice. It denounces escalating settler violence and impunity, describing these actions as part of a deliberate policy aimed at consolidating domination and perpetuating the ongoing Nakba. The Committee urges Israel to halt all settlement activity and violence against Palestinians and calls on the international community to take concrete steps to ensure Israel’s compliance with its legal obligations. 
• On 1 June, UN human rights experts warned that Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank has escalated to unprecedented levels, describing it as a form of state‑supported terror that is forcibly displacing Palestinian communities and posing an “existential risk” to their continued presence on the land. The experts highlight cases like Umm al‑Kheir, now encircled by settlements and outposts and threatened with erasure, and note that new outposts since 2023 have consistently preceded forcible transfers. They call on Israel to halt all support for settlements, ensure accountability, protect Palestinian communities, and allow displaced residents to return safely. 
• On 21 May, the UNSCO Deputy Special Coordinator briefed the Security Council, describing the situation across the Occupied Palestinian Territory as increasingly precarious, citing settlement expansion, settler-related violence and incitement in the West Bank, as well as violence, humanitarian constraints and delayed implementation of Security Council resolution 2803 (2025) in Gaza.