17 September 2020

Middle East

• On 16 September, Al-Haq and Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies published the joint oral statement delivered at 45th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council, under item 3 “Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Safe drinking Water and Sanitation”. The NGOs denounced Israel’s control of three main sources of natural water supply in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Israel’s discriminatory water distribution measures denying about 50,000 Palestinians in Area C access to clean, safe and affordable water for the benefits of Israeli settlers. They called on the Council and its Member States to address the root causes of these violations and Israel’s prolonged occupation and apartheid regime.

• On 15 September, Gisha – Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement informed about the publication of “Gaza Up Close”, which provides an overview of Israel’s ongoing policies in the Gaza Strip. In the report, Gisha mentions “high unemployment; long blackouts, severe shortages of clean water, limited economic opportunities; a very young, educated population with immense potential, and a closure that undermines their chances of succeeding.” It stated that Israel’s substantial control over so many aspects of life in the Gaza Strip means that under international law, it must facilitate normal life in the Strip, including allowing access for civilians and civilian goods.

• On 15 September, Al-Haq Director Shawan Jabarin published the open letter “UAE and Bahrain’s Normalisation with Israel Incentivises Continued Colonisation of Palestine” calling for the international community to pressure the UAE and Bahrain to comply with their third State obligations towards Palestine and prevent aiding and abetting Israel in its continuing violation of peremptory norms of international law.

• On 15 September, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association published its August 2020 Newsletter, highlighting the individual cases of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and the serious health negligence since the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the OPT.

• On 15 September, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights issued a press release alerting the UN Human Rights Council and UN Special Rapporteur on the water and sanitation crisis in Gaza. Al Mezan denounced how the longstanding water and sanitation crisis became recently acute following Israel’s additional punitive measures that included a ban on fuel shipments, which impacted on Gaza’s water pumps. It also stressed that the current situation does not ensure Gaza’s residents access to the minimum essential amount of water that is sufficient and safe for personal and domestic uses and at an affordable price.

• On 14 September, Adalah – The Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel issued the press release “Adalah & Arab Villages Petition Israeli Supreme Court for Subsidized After-School Kids’ Program” to inform about its petition on behalf of the Follow-Up Committee for Arab Education and residents of the Misgav Regional Council demanding that the fees Arab parents are obligated to pay for their children’s participation in after-school program be determines according to the socio-economic grouping of their specific community rather than that of the regional council.

• On 13 September, Peace Now denounced the eviction orders of 30 Palestinians from three homes in Sheikh Jarrah in favour of settlers, by the Jerusalem Magistrate court. Peace Now explained that the eviction lawsuits against the Palestinian families were filed by the company “Nahalat Shimon” representing settlers seeking to build a large settlement in Sheikh Jarrah, and who claimed to have purchased the land at the end of the 19th century. Peace Now denounce the latter as “part of an organized and systematic campaign of settlers, assisted by government agencies, to expel entire communities in East Jerusalem and to establish settlements in their stead.”

Europe

• On 15 September, the Palestine Return Centre (PRC) published the book “UNRWA at 70: Palestinian Refugees in Context”, which is the result of a one-day conference hosted in 2019 at the British Library in London, organized by the NGO with the collaboration of the Al Jazeera centre for Studies and the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. The book engages the themes surrounding the Agency and Palestinians “beyond the logics of humanitarianism.”

North America

• On 14 September, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued the press release “Israel: Release Body of Slain Palestinian” denouncing how the Israeli authorities have held the body of Ahmed Erakat for more than ten weeks after officers killed him seemingly without justification at a checkpoint, in violation of international humanitarian law. HRW stated that withholding bodies contravenes the customary international humanitarian law requirement to “endeavour to facilitate the return of the remains of the deceased upon request of the party to which they belong.”

United Nations

• On 10 September, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick issued a statement on the spike of unlawful demolitions in the West Bank during COVID-19 pandemic. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator said that when the Israeli authorities demolish, or force people to demolish, homes and sources of livelihood, they typically cite a lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain, due to the restrictive and discriminatory planning regime, and leaves them no venues for authorized construction. He further added that the global pandemic has increased the needs and vulnerabilities of Palestinians and unlawful demolitions exacerbate these vulnerabilities and must therefore stop immediately.

 

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.