26 March 2020

Middle East

• On 26 March, B’Tselem issued a press release to denounce Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank, which had confiscated poles and sheeting meant to build tents for a clinic in the northern Jordan Valley. B’Tselem said that shutting down a first-aid community initiative during a health crisis is “an especially cruel example of the regular abuse inflicted on these communities […]” and added that it was high time the Israeli government and military acknowledged that “now, of all times, Israel is responsible for the health and wellbeing of the five million Palestinians who live under its control” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

• On 26 March, Addameer – Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and Adalah – The Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel filed a joint petition to the Israeli Supreme Court against emergency regulations enacted in the shadow of the Coronavirus crisis preventing lawyers and family members from meeting with prisoners being held in Israeli detention. The two petitioning NGOs stated that these regulations banning visits overwhelmingly and disproportionately violate prisoners’ rights.

• On 26 March, Hamoked – Centre for Defense of the Individual, together with the Association for Civil Rights, the Public Committee Against Torture, Physicians for Human Rights, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights and Parents Against Child Detention submitted a joint petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice demanding that security inmates in Israeli prisons, denied all visits because of the Coronavirus pandemic, be able to communicate with their families. The NGOs said that “the complete isolation of entire detention facilities raises fears that rights will be violated, with no avenue for redress.”

• On 25 March, Al-Haq informed that over 75 organizations commended UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on the release of the database of businesses involved in illegal Israeli settlements. The organizations stated that the release of the database was “a significant step towards corporate accountability in the OPT for involvement in the illegal settlement enterprise and the pillage of Palestinian natural resources.”

• On 23 March, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) sent letters to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the diplomatic community in Palestine as urgent appeals with regard to the rapidly deteriorating conditions of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails in light of continuing spread of COVID-19. PHROC requested their intervention in pursing the needed communication to ensure the health and safety of Palestinians prisoners, “particularly as many are minors, chronically ill, vulnerable populations, or held under administrative detention.”

• On 22 March, Yesh Din and Physicians for Human Rights informed that they, with six Palestinian petitioners, petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice demanding the order regarding security provisions be revised so that security forces are required to obtain a judicial warrant before entering and searching Palestinians’ residences. The petitioners argued that in addition to the lack of judicial review, the circumstances and grounds under which security forces may decide to enter and search a Palestinian’s home are broad and therefore harm several interconnected fundamental rights.

• On 22 March, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a press release on the health care situation in the Gaza Strip amid the Coronavirus pandemic. PCHR stated it was concerned over the health care system’s inability to respond to the needs of patients due to the Israeli-imposed closure that, combined with other political factors, has caused a perpetual shortage of essential drugs and medical devices and an insufficient number of specialized health professionals. PCHR called upon the international community and the World Health Organization to put pressure on Israel and compel it to allow the entry of medical supplies necessary for Coronavirus medical examinations.

• On 21 March, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights issued a statement on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, urging the United Nations and its Member States to fully implement resolutions such as UN Security Council Resolution 465 of 1980, which calls upon all States “not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements in the occupied territories.” Al Mezan also called for “new effective measures to bring an end to Israel’s apartheid regime, including the reconstitution of the UN Special Committee against Apartheid and the UN Centre against Apartheid […].”

• On 20 March, Ir Amim issued a press release on the plans of the Israeli government to close the Qalandia and Shu’fat Refugee Camp checkpoints amid the COVID-19 crisis. Ir Amim said that such a measure will fully disconnect the East Jerusalem “neighborhoods beyond the barrier” from Jerusalem and prevent the up to 140,000 East Jerusalem residents who live in those areas from entering the rest of the city. Also, Ir Amim underlined that this measure should be seen within the larger political context of longstanding Israeli policy and plans to ultimately sever these neighborhoods from the rest of Jerusalem.

Europe

• On 26 March, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR) issued a statement, following a report from Physicians for Human Rights Israel that the family of a 10-year old girl from Gaza had died of cancer last month as her family struggled to obtain Israeli permits to accompany her to the hospital in Nablus. LPHR urged the international community to act on this case by insisting to the government of Israel that it uniformly permits parents to accompany their children for medical treatment outside of Gaza, in compliance with its obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law that provide for the rights of children living under military occupation.

North America

• On 25 March, Americans for Peace Now (APN) issued a press release to extend their wishes for health and resilience to the Israelis and their Palestinian neighbours as they confront COVID-19. APN underlined that this public health crisis demonstrates that “Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians alike, are equally vulnerable when it comes to a deadly virus […]” and that “this crisis is helping normalize and enhance the sense of a shared humanity between Israelis and Palestinians across the Green Line and a shared sense of citizenhood among Arabs and Jews within Israel proper.”

United Nations

• On 20 March, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a joint note with the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) and the Ministry of Interior of the State of Palestine on “Deprivation of Liberty Amid the Outbreak of COVID-19”. The note briefly outlines specific obligations and recommendations on detention and the treatment of detainees amid the state of emergency following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the State of Palestine.

 

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.