11 November 2018

Middle East

• On 8 November, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights issued a statement noting that the recent increase in fuel in the Gaza Strip has improved access to electricity; however, the chronic shortages of electricity still exist and a lasting end to the crisis must be found soon. Al Mezan proposed the use of smart meters, which allow for control of the electricity supply, as a short-term solution that would offer residents respite until the crisis is fully alleviated.
• On 5 November, Addameer informed that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had agreed to support the bill on Israeli criminal law/penal code reforming the death penalty for citizens accused of terrorist attacks. Currently, capital punishment under military law only applies to convictions of killing an Israeli and requires a unanimous ruling from a court with three judges. The new bill will lower the threshold to a simple majority amongst the three judges and will prohibit the commutation of a death sentence. Addameer argues that under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights the death penalty cannot be handed down in instances where a fair trial has not been guaranteed and the Israeli military court system has broadly demonstrated not meeting the international standards of a fair trial.
• On 1 November, HaMoked submitted a series of petitions to the Israeli High Court of Justice on behalf of Palestinian residents of the West Bank and their foreign spouses, demanding that the foreign spouses be permitted to legalize their status in the OPT through a family unification procedure. HaMoked argued that the military’s refusal to review requests of foreign citizens for family unification is contrary to international and Israeli law, and to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, which has been incorporated into the internal legal system of the OPT.
• On 1 November, the Palestinian Center for Human rights (PCHR) organized a panel discussion about the bill to amend the NGOs and Charities Law. The participants agreed that the proposed amendment violated the right to form associations. They argued that the amendment would reinforce the Ministry of Interior’s control over associations and legalize arbitrary practices that currently exist.
• On 31 October, BADIL- Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights submitted its first report on “Illegal and Excessive Use of Force by the Israeli military in Dheisheh Refugee Camp” to the Commission of Inquiry established under United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution S-28/1. The submission provides a brief on Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem that regularly experiences Israeli military raids. It also recommends the use of an appropriate international humanitarian and human rights law legal framework to regulate Israeli military conduct. BADIL noted that the regular night raids on Dheisheh Refugee Camp required special attention and should be investigated by the Commission of Inquiry.
• On 28 October, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights issued a statement condemning the escalation of Israeli military action on the Gaza Strip. The statement mentions that from 26 to 29 October, the Israeli Air Force launched 70 missiles, killing three Palestinian children and causing damage to Palestinian infrastructure including a hospital and tens of houses.
• On 26 October, Al-Haq, Al Mezan and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) made a joint submission to the ICC on alleged crimes committed by Israelis, in particular high-level Israeli officials, and individuals associated with corporations that are extracting and destroying Palestinian natural resources. The organizations argued there was reasonable basis to believe that Israelis and private actors committed war crimes of extensive destruction and appropriation of property, as well as pillage.
• On 25 October, B’Tselem condemned the Israeli military blockade imposed to the entrances of Palestinian locations in the West Bank in September and October. The roadblocks severely disrupted the residents’ lives and impaired their ability to get to school and receive medical treatment, or simply to maintain a reasonable daily routine. B’Tselem described the action as unlawful and said it constituted a collective punishment.

North America

• On 8 November, the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) hosted an event at the United Nations in New York, on the “Future of Palestine Refugees in the Middle East”. The event highlighted the challenges facing Palestinian refugees also in the context of UNRWA’s funding crisis and the attacks on the Agency. It provided an overview of the situation of Palestine refugees in host countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as well as their conditions inside the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

United Nations

• On 28 November, UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will hold a high-level meeting to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestine People, as well as closed consultations with Civil Society Organisations. On 29 November, the Committee in collaboration with the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine will launch a photo exhibit “Unrealized Rights, Unfulfilled Promises: 70 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the Palestinian People’s Nakba” in the Public Lobby of the General Assembly Building of the United Nations in New York.

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.