NGO Action News – 22 August 2024

Middle East

• On 20 August, Al Shabaka published the webinar “Gaza: Testing Ground for Israel’s Global Weapons Industry”. As per the NGO, for years Israel’s rapidly growing military industrial complex has turned the country into a leading exporter of sophisticated weaponry and cutting-edge spyware. Marwa Fatafta, Antony Loewenstein and Tariq Kenney-Shawa discussed how Israel has used Palestinians under occupation and blockade as unwilling test subjects for its weapons technologies.
• On 20 August, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) published a statement to condemn what it describes as an escalating and deliberate targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists by Israeli Defense Forces. The latest reported victim is photojournalist Ibrahim Mohareb, who was killed when an Israeli tank targeted a group of journalists near Hamad City, in Gaza. The organization informed that this attack not only claimed Mohareb’s life but also left another female journalist injured. According to PCHR, Israel continues to pursue a systematic policy to eradicate journalism in the Gaza Strip, marked by the direct targeting and blatant disregard for press insignia.
• On 19 August, Peace Now released a new settlements map which offers a comprehensive and up-to-date view of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This tool provides detailed information on the location and size of the illegal settlements and outposts.
• On 19 August, 7amleh published a new study titled “Digital Security Among Palestinian Youth: A Study on Threats and Challenges in Light of the War on Gaza”. It highlights the digital security landscape for Palestinian youth in the West Bank and Jerusalem, concluding that the issue of digital security in the Palestinian context has become complex due to the multiple entities violating Palestinian digital rights and the varied nature of emerging threats.
• On 19 August, BADIL published the position paper “A Critical Analysis of the Biased Review of UNRWA’s Neutrality”. The NGO stated that this paper identified and addressed the serious strategic risks imposed on UNRWA, its mandate, and its sustainability arising from the approach and recommendations of the Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality.
• On 19 August, the Institute for Palestine Studies published the article “Traumatic Injuries and Deficient Resources in Northern Gaza Hospital: A Neurosurgeon’s Testimony after Mission in Gaza”. In this interview, Sumaya Tabbah spoke with Jawad Shah about his experience in Gaza, the nature of trauma patients he treated, and the challenges of providing care.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 21 August, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) called on the international community to intervene and protect Palestinian communities after Israeli settler violence in the northeast of the West Bank caused the largest wave of forcible transfers of Palestinian communities since the weeks following 7 October 2023. The NGO informed that 3 communities comprising
  119 Palestinians have been forced out over the past 10 days after Israeli settlers attacked community members in their homes, erected new settler outposts and blocked access to water.
• On 19 August, Amnesty International published an article informing that some of the world’s biggest arms exporters are continuing to openly flout the rules of the Arms Trade Treaty through unlawful arms transfers, leading to a devastating loss of life in conflict zones such as the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The NGO stated that 155 states voted to adopt the Arms Trade Treaty in 2013. Today, the treaty has 115 state parties and 27 signatories, including all of the top 10 arms exporters – which account for over 90% of the arms trade. But the NGO warned that the continued transfer or arms to Israel was a stark example of the failure by state parties to fully comply with the Arms Trade Treaty, or not undermine its object and purpose.

North America

• On 20 August, Churches for the Middle East Peace issued a statement with other aid agencies calling for Israeli authorities to guarantee and facilitate safe, unhindered access for all vaccines, associated equipment, and specialist staff through all crossing points into and within Gaza, as well as safe unfettered access for children and families to health points across the Strip. In addition to the vaccines, full and unhindered humanitarian access into and within the Gaza Strip is essential after a first case of polio was confirmed and traces of the disease were found in wastewater.
• On 14 August, Americans for Peace Now (APN) issued a statement condemning the Israeli government’s announcement of approval for a new illegal settlement, Nahal Heletz, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. According to APN, the settlement is deliberately designed to disrupt the contiguity of an eventual Palestinian state. The location of this settlement also encroaches on the Palestinian village of Battir, home to ancient hillside agricultural terraces that have been designated a world heritage site by UNESCO.

United Nations

• On 19 August, OHCHR issued a statement to raise concerns towards Israel’s recent and ongoing settlement expansion and legal changes in the occupied West Bank, measures which violate international law, including a landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice in July. OHCHR stated that settlement expansion in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is being accompanied and greatly facilitated by the recent transfer of powers from the military to civilian officials. The continued settlement activity and changes to the legal regime applicable in the occupied West Bank, along with the separation of Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the West Bank, also further institutionalize long-standing systematic discrimination, oppression and violence against the Palestinian people.
• On 19 August, UNRWA published a statement of the UNRWA Chief of Staff, Ben Majekodunmi, delivered at the World Humanitarian Day 2024 UN commemoration in Geneva. Ben Majekodunmi recalled that the harm inflicted on humanitarian workers and operations in Gaza has been described by competent entities in the UN and beyond as violations of international law and likely war crimes. He called for the protection of UN’s staff and facilities, and for accountability for the violations committed during this conflict. OCHA marked this international day as well by informing that, with 280 aid workers killed in 33 countries last year, 2023 marked the deadliest year on record for the global humanitarian community.