18 March 2021

Middle East

• On 8 March, B’Tselem and Kerem Navot published the report “This Is Ours – And This, Too – Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank” on the mechanisms used to encourage Israeli citizens to move into the occupied Palestinian territory. The report also reviews developments on the ground over the last decade, focusing on the spatial impact of the two largest settlement blocs.

• On 8 March, Al-Haq published the article “Commemorating International Women’s Day: Palestinian Women Continue to Challenge Israel’s Apartheid Regime During a Global Pandemic”. In the article, the NGO highlighted the challenges of Palestinian women under occupation and the limits to their political participation, as well as outlined action points for the international community and the State of Palestine.

• On 8 March, Al Mezan Center For Human Rights issued a press release on “International Women’s Day: Gaza woman injured in protests calls for perseverance of women all over the world in leading the fight for women’s rights”. The NGO highlighted that, “while women play a pivotal role in driving community progress, they are still vastly underrepresented in public life and decision-making” and how women were and are at the forefront of the Palestinian people’s actions against the Israeli occupation and the Gaza blockade.

• On 8 March, Addameer issued the press release “35 Palestinian women yearning for freedom on International Women’s Day” highlighting the plight of Palestinian women in Israeli prisons, including their subjugation to torture and imprisonment outside the OPT.

North America

• On 18 March, the Columbia University Center for Palestine Studies will host the event “Jews and Palestinians in the late Ottoman Era 1908-1914, Claiming the Homeland” with Louis Fishman and Rashid Khalidi about the former’s recent book of the same name. Taking recourse to a history buried by different nationalist narratives (Jewish, Israeli, Arab and Palestinian) the event will look at how the late Ottoman era set the stage for the on-going Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

• On 31 March, The Jerusalem Fund will host the event “A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine” with Peter Beinart to explore “a vision of equality between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River that offers dignity, safety, and freedom for both peoples.”

• On 4 March, J Street issued a “Statement on ICC Prosecutor’s decision to investigate alleged violations of international law in Palestinian territories”, in which the NGO highlights that it “take[s] no position on the merits of the ICC’s decision on jurisdiction vis-a-vis ‘the Situation in Palestine,’ nor on its decision to formally open an investigation into the situation” and urges “that the energy being poured into decrying the Court and its motives be turned in a more fruitful direction — urging Israel to participate in the Court’s proceedings.”

• On 3 March, Americans for Peace Now issued the press release “ICC Investigation’s Message: End the Occupation” stating that “The ICC’s decision is a clear example of the fact that the international community will not tolerate the occupation. Neither will Americans for Peace Now or the many progressive American Jews who support our organization and Israel’s peace movement. Neither, of course, should Israeli citizens.”

United Nations

• On 10 March, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People organized the virtual event on the margins of the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on “Women, Peace and Security and Beijing+25: Progress and Challenges for Women and Girls in Palestine”. The event featured a panel conversation with three Palestinian women officials and civil society representatives, from different regions of the occupied Palestinian territory and across generations – Ms. Hind Khoury, former Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem and Ambassador to France; H.E. Amal Jadou, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Ms. Nour Swirki, activist and journalist in Gaza. The event was moderated by Amb. Adela Raz, Vice-Chair of the Committee and Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the UN.

• On 8 March, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Lynn Hastings issued a statement on the occasion of International Women’s Day. In the statement Ms. Hastings highlighted that “[w]hile this year’s focus is on Women in Leadership, our commitment must be to all Palestinian women, including those with disabilities, in marginalized and rural communities, refugee camps, Area C, Hebron-H2, and in Gaza” and referred to the UN Secretary-General’s theme that “women’s leadership and decision-making is not ‘a favour to women,’ rather it is essential to ‘peace and progress for all’.”

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.