3 August 2018

 Middle East

• On 2 August, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a statement condemning Israel’s decision to ban the entry of fuel, gas, goods and basic needs into the Gaza Strip. PCHR warned of further catastrophic consequences for the two million Palestinians in the enclave already suffering from serious deterioration of humanitarian, economic and social conditions. On 1 August, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued the ban in response to the continued firing of incendiary balloons and ongoing demonstrations near the Gaza Strip borders.

• On 1 August, Al Mezan reported that figures provided by the Israeli Ministry of Defense indicate a spike in denied exit permit applications by Gaza residents, on grounds that the applicants’ “first-degree relative was a Hamas operative”. In the first quarter of 2018 alone, 833 exit permit applications were denied compared to 21 denied in 2017.

• On 1 August, Adalah, Al Mezan, Gisha and Physicians for Human Rights submitted a petition to Israel’s High Court on behalf of seven medical patients who were openly denied access to treatment because of a claim that their family members are “Hamas operatives”. In their press release, Adalah denounced an alarming spike in rejections of exit permit applications by Gazans in 2018. The rejections are allegedly a direct outcome of Israel’s Security Cabinet, which ordered “several operative measures to serve as leverage over Hamas with respect to returning captured and missing persons.”

• On 30 July, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemned the interception and seizure of a sailing boat en route to Gaza with 22 international activists on board attempting to break the Israeli siege of Gaza in solidarity with blockaded Palestinians. Al Mezan expressed concern that Israeli forces may subject the activists to ill-treatment or abuse while in detention and called on the international community to pressure Israeli authorities to end the closure and blockade.

• On 27 July, HaMoked requested the Israeli Ministry of Interior to grant legal status to minor children of residents of East Jerusalem while their reinstatement status was being examined. Under the “Awad Precedent” of 1988, the permanent residency of Palestinians from East Jerusalem can expire if they reside outside Israel and East Jerusalem. Returning East Jerusalemites receive a temporary residency status (A/5 visa) during examination of their reinstatement status to enable them to work and receive health care benefits but their minor children born abroad have no legal status in Israel.

United Nations

• On 29 July, UNRWA condemned actions taken by some staff protesting austerity measures imposed following severe financial cuts by the United States, that impacted emergency operations and several staff positions in both Gaza and West Bank. Some protesting stuff prevented senior management from accessing the compound, burned effigies of UNRWA leadership, expressed threats, circulated offensive images of staff and staged unauthorized events in UNRWA installations.

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.