NGO Action News – 6 March 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.

Middle East

• On 18 March, 7amleh and Makan will host the webinar “Reconnecting Gaza, Empowering the Future”. The NGO will present the findings of its report “Gaza Telecommunications Infrastructure: Assessment of Damages and Humanitarian Impact” according to which Israel weaponized repeated telecommunications blackouts as a method to silence and isolate Palestinians in Gaza. The report highlights how the urgent need to rebuild Gaza’s communications infrastructure is central to achieving digital rights and justice.

• On 3 March, Al Mezan issued a press release following Israel’s decision to close all crossings into Gaza and halt the entry of humanitarian aid and supplies into the occupied territory. The NGO stated that the deliberate suspension of humanitarian aid to Gaza violated the provisional measures orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case of South Africa v. Israel and was a continuation of the war crime of starvation.

• On 3 March, Addameer published an article calling for the dismantlement of the Israeli military court system. As the March 2025 Conference of the High Contracting Parties (HCPs) to the Fourth Geneva Convention approaches, the NGO urged all HCPs to take decisive action against Israel’s military court system, which serves, according to Addameer, as a tool of oppression, mass incarceration, and apartheid against the Palestinian people. Al-Haq issued a legal briefing paper on this conference as well. The NGO identified key issues that HCPs must consider if the Conference is to have any meaningful effect, as Israel’s violations spanned the entire range of international humanitarian law’s provisions and principles.

• On 2 March, 7amleh published an article on its participation at the RightsCon 2025 conference in Taipei, where it engaged in key discussions on digital rights, censorship, and connectivity, with a major focus on rebuilding Gaza’s telecommunications infrastructure. At the summit, the NGO launched #ReconnectGaza, a global campaign demanding the restoration of Gaza’s destroyed network and the protection of communication as a fundamental human right.

• On 1 March, Al-Haq published the report “Killings, Beatings and Prohibited Access: Israeli Systematic Denial of Palestinian Farmers From their Land during the 2024 Olive Harvest Season”. This report highlights the violence committed in October and November 2024 by Israeli forces and settlers against olive harvesters, denying many farmers and their families access to their lands and harvesting their olive trees.

• On 28 February, Badil issued a press release following its oral intervention during the
58th session of the UN Human Rights Council, stating that only sanctions could ensure an end to the impunity that Israel enjoyed for crimes committed against Palestinians, and for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and return to be put into practice.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 4 March, the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network published a media release demanding urgent Australian action as Israel moved to escalate its blockade on Gaza. According to the NGO, this plan, which aims to cut off essential food, water and electricity supplies to Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinians, is a violation of international law and an unacceptable intensification of the ongoing humanitarian disaster that Israel has manufactured in the besieged territory. On the same issue, the Norwegian Refugee Council issued a press release warning that Israel halting all entry of aid into Gaza, amid stalled ceasefire efforts, will have devastating consequences for over the two million civilians in the Strip who are already facing starvation and extreme deprivation. The NGO urged the Israeli government to immediately reverse this decision and for international actors to do everything in their power to ensure access to Gaza resumes, so that aid reaches those in need without any further delay or disruption.

• On 28 February, Law for Palestine, in collaboration with the Independent Commission for Human Rights in Palestine and the Community Action Center in Al Quds University, hosted the online webinar “Gaza/West Bank: Expanding Genocide, UNRWA Ban and Defiance of International Institutions – What Protection Measures Are Needed for Palestinians?” The webinar brought together experts in international law, human rights, and global advocacy to discuss the ongoing genocide in Palestine, particularly the expansion of Israel’s tactics from Gaza to the West Bank, and the escalating attacks on UNRWA and international institutions.

North America

• On 5 March, the Columbia University Center for Palestine Studies organised a public discussion on “Country of Words: A Transnational Atlas for Palestinian Literature”, a digital-born project that retraces and remaps the global story of Palestinian literature in the 20th century. The event featured the participation of Refqa Abu-Remaile, author of this project and Associate Professor of Modern Arabic Literature and Film at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.

• On 3 March, New Jewish Narrative issued a statement protesting the decision by the Israeli government to cut off aid to Gaza. The NGO added that the decision to stop allowing trucks ferrying humanitarian aid into Gaza not only violated the terms of the ceasefire, but also amounted to a war crime.

• On 27 February, Human Rights Watch published the article “Israeli Authorities Block Health Care Workers from Entering Gaza”, informing that, despite the mid-January ceasefire, Israel’s military has denied numerous medical professionals entry into Gaza without an explanation. The NGO added that these denials exacerbated a cycle of Israeli violations of Palestinians’ right to health.

United Nations

• On 3 March, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, sent a statement for the launch of the Berlin Initiative “For a Diplomatic Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”, stressing the need to lay the foundations for a lasting peace that ensures security for Israel, dignity and self-determination for the Palestinian people, and stability for the entire region. The Berlin Initiative aims at bringing together senior politicians, diplomats, academics and other stakeholders to create advanced insights and to forge new alliances to support the de-escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

• On 26 February, OCHA published the report “West Bank Monthly Snapshot – Casualties, Property Damage and Displacement”, for the month of January 2025. The report highlighted that over 27,000 Palestinians had been displaced by Palestinian and Israeli forces’ operations during the reporting period.

• On 25 February, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim, Sigrid Kaag, briefed the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Sigrid Kaag stressed that the UN, NGOs and member states had expedited and scaled up life-saving humanitarian assistance into Gaza since the first phase of the ceasefire came into effect on 19 January. She called on both sides to fully honor their commitments to the ceasefire deal and conclude negotiations for the second phase. Ms. Kaag also expressed concern about military operations, attacks and mounting violence in the West Bank while international attention was focusing on Gaza.