In the fiftieth year of Israel’s unlawful occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, Israel continues to significantly alter the legal status, demographic composition, and character of the city of Jerusalem in violation of international law. International consensus over the past seven decades has rejected any claim by Israel to sovereign rights over the city of Jerusalem, and condemned Israeli measures that have sought to alter the character of the Holy City as having no legal validity whatsoever, as reaffirmed by countless United Nations (UN) resolutions.¹

United States (US) President Donald Trump broke with this international consensus on 6 December 2017 when he recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President Trump’s declaration is not only in violation of international law,² it also deepens Israel’s unlawful annexation of East Jerusalem and its illegal settlement enterprise in and around the city. The US recognition serves to embolden Israel in its violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Just last month, the Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation scheduled a vote on a bill to unlawfully annex a number of illegal Israeli settlements in the Jerusalem periphery in line with its ”Greater Jerusalem” plan.³

The so-called “Greater Jerusalem Bill”, which was authored by Likud MK Yoav Kisch, is intended to serve Israel’s long-term plan of altering the demographic character of Jerusalem to achieve a 70 per cent majority of Israeli Jews to a 30 per cent minority of Palestinians. The bill seeks to expand the Jerusalem municipality and to include within it the large settlement blocs of Ma’ale Adumim, Giv’at Ze’ev, and Gush Etzion, in addition to smaller settlements. Meanwhile, the bill threatens to sever Palestinian neighbourhoods, including Kufr Aqab, Anata, and Shu’fat refugee camp, from Jerusalem.⁴Kisch’s bill, which has received full support from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and others in the Israeli Government, is one of several plans to redraw the borders of Jerusalem, to reduce the Palestinian presence therein, and to bring approximately 150,000 Israeli settlers within the city’s boundaries. Another bill, which seeks to amend for the second time the ‘Basic Law’ on Jerusalem, entered its second and third readings before the Knesset on Monday, 11 December 2017.⁵ The last amendment to the ‘Basic Law’ on Jerusalem was enacted in 1980 and was censured “in the strongest terms” by the UN Security Council, which called on “[t]hose States that have established diplomatic missions at Jerusalem to withdraw such missions from the Holy City”.⁶

As a direct result of US pressure, the Knesset Ministerial Committee postponed the vote on the “Greater Jerusalem Bill” in late October 2017.⁷ However, given the unprecedented shift in US policy in recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel this week, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) is deeply concerned that the “Greater Jerusalem Bill” may be tabled once more. Indeed, the enactment of Israeli legislation that seeks to legitimize settlement expansion and the seizure of Palestinian lands amounts to the creation of facts on the ground that may become irreversible, entrenching Israel’s de facto annexation, colonisation, and racial discrimination against the Palestinian people.

US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, including over occupied East Jerusalem and the settlements therein, must be condemned by the international community, including Member States of the European Union (EU), whose obligation it is not to recognise as lawful any changes to the legal status of Jerusalem and to cooperate to bring to an end violations of international law, including grave breaches, committed in the oPt. Inaction by the EU will only further Israel’s impunity and would amount to silent acquiescence to Israel’s on-going settlement enterprise and its denial of the right of Palestinians to self-determination and permanent sovereignty.

In light of recent developments, PHROC calls on EU Member States to abide by their obligations under international law not to recognise as lawful any attempts to change the character, legal status, and demographic composition of the city of Jerusalem; not to render aid or assistance in the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful settlement enterprise; and to cooperate to bring to an end Israel’s five-decade long occupation. Finally, the EU must take clear and decisive action and exert real pressure on Israel to ensure respect for international law in the oPt.

¹ UN Security Council resolution 242 (1967), UN Doc S/RES/242 (1967), paragraph 1(i); UN Security Council resolution 478 (1980), UN Doc S/RES/478 (1980), paragraph 3; UN Security Council resolution 2334 (2016), UN Doc S/RES/2334 (2016), paragraphs 1-3.

² Article 41(2), Draft articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (2001).

³ The draft bill for the “Jerusalem and Its Daughters” Law – 2017 [5778] (P/20/4109) was introduced by MK Yoav Kisch before the Knesset for preliminary discussion in March 2017. It may be found on the Knesset website at:http://main.knesset.gov.il/Activity/Legislation/Laws/Pages/LawBill.aspx?t=lawsuggestionssearch&lawitemid=2013191.

⁴ The draft bill for the “Jerusalem and Its Daughters” Law – 2017 [5778] (P/20/4109) calls for the creation of councils for Shu’fat refugee camp, KufrAqab, and Anata. These councils “will be elected by their residents at the time of Jerusalem’s municipal elections [and] will have the authorities and powers determined by the Minister with the approval of the Internal Affairs and Environmental Committee of the Knesset.”

⁵ The “Basic Law Bill: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel” Amendment No. 2 – Supermajority (P/20/4346) proposes “that any change in the area of Jerusalem and any change in the clause which prevents the transfer of the Jerusalem-related authority to a foreign body will require a supermajority of 80 Knesset members.”

⁶ UN Security Council resolution 478 (1980), UN Doc S/RES/478 (1980), paragraphs 1 and 5(b).

⁷ Jeffrey Heller, “U.S. pressure delays Israel’s ‘Greater Jerusalem’ bill: legislator” (29 October 2017), available at:https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-settlement/u-s-pressure-delays-israels-greater-jerusalem-bill-legislator-idUSKBN1CY0CB.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) calls upon the international community to take effective measures aimed at ensuring Israel’s cooperation with mechanisms of the United Nations (UN), including its missions.

In particular, PHROC condemns the continued prevention of entry for the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. Current mandate holder Mr. S. Michael Lynk, was appointed in 2016, and has not received any responses from the Israeli government for his requests to conduct official visits.

Israel has prevented the entry of the mandate holder on the OPT since 2008. Lynk’s predecessor, MakarimWibisono, resigned due to lack of access to the OPT, and stated “my efforts to help improve the lives of Palestinian victims of violations under the Israeli occupation have been frustrated every step of the way.” ^[1] Other UN-established investigative bodies such as the 2012 UN Fact-finding Mission on Israeli settlements and the UN Independent Commission on Inquiry on Gaza in 2014 have been similarly prevented from entering the OPT.

Due to lack of access, mandate holders and the aforementioned bodies have had to conduct meetings with victims, organizations, and other stakeholders outside of the OPT. While such meetings serve to convey the impacts of Israel’s violations of international law, having direct access to the territory and seeing first-hand the reality of Israel’s occupation is essential.

Under the Charter of the United Nations, Israel is obliged to allow the UN, including mandate holders, to access to its territory as “may be necessary for the exercise of its functions and the fulfillment of its purposes.”^[2]  Accordingly, PHROC calls upon third states to ensure Israel’s compliance in allowing access to the OPT for the Special Rapporteur, as well as other UN missions and mandate holders in the future.

[1] Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestinian Territory resigns due to continued lack of access to OPT, UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, 4 January 2016, available at
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16922

[2] Article 104, Charter of the United Nations. Article 105 also states “Representatives of the Members of the United Nations and officials of the Organization shall similarly enjoy such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the Organization.” See also Section 22 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council followed up on the Palestinian Security Forces’ forceful assault on the peaceful assembly that took place on Sunday, March 12, 2017 in front of the Palestinian Court Complex in Al-Balou’ area in Al-Bireh City. The assembly was organized in protest of the court hearings against Bassel Mahmoud Ibrahim Al-A’raj, who was killed by the Israeli Occupying Forces on March 3, 2017, and against five other Palestinians on weapon possession charges, of whom four are currently detained by the Israeli Occupying Forces.

According to information documented by PHROC, protesters took part in the peaceful assembly and gathered on the sidewalk in front of the Palestinian Court Complex. Carrying Al-Araj’s photos, protesters shouted out slogans in opposition to the court hearing, and in condemnation of security coordination with the Israeli Occupying Forces. By 12:00 pm, tens of protesters had joined the peaceful assembly, some of whom blocked traffic as they stood in the middle of the street.

Around 12:15 PM, a large number of Special Police Forces, Riot police, and National Security Forces arrived to the scene fully equipped with shields and batons. They called on some of the protesters to stand aside, threatening that they would otherwise break up the demonstration by force. Immediately thereafter, the riot police began to violently attack the peaceful assembly by initiating forceful physical contact with the protesters, pushing them back using plastic shields, and beating them with batons. Riot forces also fired sound bombs, tear gas and pepper spray in an attempt to disperse the demonstration.

At least 16 people were assaulted, including Al-Araj’s father, Sheikh Khader Adnan, journalist Hafez Abu sabra, journalist Ahmad Melhem, and lawyer Fareed Atrash. The riot police also broke the camera of journalist Jihad Barakat and interrupted the live broadcast of Palestine Today TV Channel. Four of those injured were transferred to the nearby hospitals.

Six people were arrested including Sheikh Khader Adnan, Hadi Al Tarsheh and Suheil Idrisi and  were transferred to the Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU) in Al-Balou’ area. Detainees were held at the CIU for about an hour where their personal information was collected before they were released.

The recent assault follows a line of other violations of the right to peaceful assembly including the assault that took place on 25 February 2017, during which Palestinian Security Forces forcefully dispersed a peaceful assembly in Hebron, attacked and beat demonstrators using batons, tear gas, and live ammunition to disperse the crowd, and arrested a number of participants.

These assaults on the right to peaceful assembly occur within the context of a serious deterioration in the enjoyment of public rights and freedoms at the domestic level. Indicators include an increase in complaints of torture and ill-treatment in detention centres operated by Palestinian Security Forces, especially on the part of the Joint Security Committee in the detention center in Jericho, and on the part of Palestinian Security Forces acting as judicial police. This is in addition to the continued arbitrary arrests and violations of fair trial guarantees. Furthermore, there remains a lack of enforcement by Palestinian Security Forces of judicial decisions providing redress for those unlawfully detained. There have also been interferences by the Executive Authority and by the Palestinian Security Forces in the activities of nonprofit and non-governmental organizations. Further cases documented by PHROC reveal a noticeable increase in violations in 2017 and clearly point towards a continuing deterioration in the human rights situation on the ground. At the same time, accountability remains absent despite these cases being reviewed by the relevant authorities and despite the submission of criminal communications to the Public Prosecutor. As such, indicators reveal a systematic pattern of violations compounded by the absence of accountability for perpetrators and redress for victims.

Accordingly, PHROC warns that the continuity of the dangerous deterioration in the respect for various rights and freedoms and the absence of justice and redress is contributing to the culture of mistrust in the rule of law, accountability, and in the role of the justice system in the protection of human rights. As a result, PHROC recommends the following:

1. The Council views that the Executive Authority in the government holds complete responsibility in regards to the continuous deterioration of the general rights and freedoms and requests that the President, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Minister of the Interior, Dr. Rami Al Hamdallah, publish clear regulations to stop the PA’s security forces from violating the rights of civilians, to respect the rule of law and human rights, to ensure that all employees of law enforcement commit to a code of conduct, and to ensure that breaches of the code of conduct are held accountable.
2. The Council requests that the authorities establish an effective criminal investigation regarding the violations that took place at the peaceful assembly by the security forces against civilians at the Palestinian Court Complex. All perpetrators should undergo legal procedures in order to bring justice to the victims. Although the peaceful protesters did not notify authorities in line with the 1998 General Meetings Law, the investigation should reveal that this does not render the peaceful assembly unlawful and therefore should not justify the use of excessive force against them. The excessive use of force violates the international standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials.
3. The Council warns that the continuity of the absence of accountability and justice in the cases of repetitive violations of rights and freedoms leads to social congestions, desperation, and mistrust. This constitutes a serious threat towards domestic peace and security. The results of the contentious and repetitiveness of the absence of accountability and justice has catastrophic impacts in a broader sense aiding the Israeli authorities in paralyzing Palestinian efforts to hold Israel accountable for violations against the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) strongly condemns the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) special unit’s violent attacks against Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and expresses its utmost support for and solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and detainees and their legitimate demands. These continuous and systematic attacks are just one part of Israel’s oppressive policies and practices against Palestinian prisoners.

Over the last few days, IPS special unit forces, called the Metzada, have carried out violent raids in the Nafha and Naqab prisons, both located beyond the Green Line. On 30 January 2017, the Metzada raided section 1 of the Nafha prison, attacking the prisoners and destroying their belongings. The attacks escalated on 1 February when an estimated 400 officers entered sections 2 and 12 of the prison, and carried out a mass search raid and attacked prisoners with tear gas. The officers transferred some of the prisoners to other sections within the prison after one prisoner allegedly attempted an attack. These attacks continued on the morning of 2 February after the IPS closed off all sections of the prison.

The Metzada similary raided and attacked prisoners in section 16 of the Naqab prison. These prisoners were also subjected to physical beatings and some were transferred to other sections within the prison. Violent attacks and searches continued on 2 February in section 13 of the Naqab prison.

Palestinian prisoners held in the Nafha and Naqab prisons have begun a civil disobedience campaign against the IPS administration to protest against their ill-treatment. In the past, prisoners in the Nafhaprison have demanded putting an end to humiliating searches; returning prisoners to the sections they were held in before raids; and ending the punitive measures imposed on prisoners following these raids, which included isolation, denial of visitation rights, and fines.

PHROC also condemns recent legislation and discriminatory laws, including the force-feeding bill, which allows the IPS to force feed hunger striking prisoners and detainees. Force-feeding may amount to torture which is prohibited under international humanitarian law.

Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons suffer from a multitude of violations of their rights under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. They are routinely subjected to physical and psychological torture and other cruel, degrading and inhuman forms of treatment and punishment. The widespread ill-treatment that has been documented in Israeli prisons amounts to violations of the 1955 United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment adopted in 1988, the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilians in Times of War, and the 1948 International Convention Against Torture, which was ratified by Israel in 1991.

PHROC condemns the continued violations of the rights of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, particularly the right to freedom from degrading, inhumane treatment, and from torture and ill treatment.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) strongly condemns the refusal by Israeli authorities to grant a work permit to Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine director. The refusal reflects a larger policy of repression of human rights work by Israeli authorities through movement restrictions, arbitrary arrests, travel bans, and denial of entry.

In recent months, Palestinian, Israeli and international organizations have come under increased pressure from Israel for their reporting on Israel’s human rights violations. This includes a series of smear campaigns^[1] and the passage of a Knesset law in July of 2016 that obliges nongovernmental organizations to report on their foreign funding, with fines reaching about 7,000 USD for non-compliance.

United Nations experts have also been subject to denials of entry by Israel, including Richard Falk, the former Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.^[2]

Other United Nations experts have also highlighted the shrinking space for human rights work. In December 2016, Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 and Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders have noted the increasing repression of human rights defenders in occupied Palestine, citing cases of arbitrary arrest. Particularly, the UN Special Rapporteurs raised concerns about IssaAmro, founder of Youth Against Settlements, Farid al-Atrash, a Palestinian attorney, Salah Khawaja, Stop the Wall Campaign coordinator, and Hasan Safadi, Addameer’s media coordinator, all of whom have been arrested in recent months.^[3]

PHROCstands in solidarity with Human Rights Watch and calls for the protection of human rights work, the freedom of movement for human rights staff, and an immediate end to repression and that serves to inhibit vital human rights work in Palestine, Israel and globally.

[1] Al MezanCenter for Human Rights, “Al Mezan Condemns Continued Death Threats to Staff Members and Calls on the International Community to Intervene”, 11 August 2016. Available at: http://www.mezan.org/en/post/21475/Al+Mezan+Condemns+Continued+Death+Threats+to+Staff+Members+and+Calls+on+the+International+Community+to+Intervene

[2] Al-Haq, “Denial of entry to UN Special Rapporteur demonstrates once again Israel’s duplicity in its relations with the UN, 17 December 2009. Available at:
http://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/targets/united-nations/205-denial-of-entry-to-un-special-rapporteur-demonstrates-once-again-israels-duplicity-in-its-relations-with-the-un

[3] “Human rights defenders under growing legal pressure in the OPT – UN rights experts”, Geneva, 16 December 2016. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21041&LangID=E#sthash.qp0Ce72c.dpuf

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) strongly condemns the Israeli Knesset’s passage of the “Regularization Law,” which legalizes 4,000 housing units in 55 colonial outposts, built on private Palestinian land. While Israel’s appropriation of Palestinian land has been a cornerstone of government policy since the beginning of the occupation in 1967, the law is another brazen tool for Israel to confiscate privately held and registered Palestinian property for its illegal settlement enterprise.

Members of Israel’s governing Likud party, including Miri Regev, Israel’s Culture and Sport Minister, stated that the passage of the law was “a historic move” toward annexing the West Bank. She stated, “[t]his is the first step towards complete regulation, namely, applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”^[1] Before the bill was passed into law, Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home (HabayitHayehudi) party and Israel’s Education Minister, considered it as “[a] first step away from the two-state solution towards annexing the West Bank and practicing sovereignty over land but not its inhabitants.”^[2] The Jewish Home party has also introducedanother controversial bill that would annex the illegal colonial bloc of Ma’aleAdumim and the area referred to as E1, which is currently home to over 8,000 Bedouins who are under threat of forced transfer.^[3] Such statements and actions reflect Israel’s overarching and systematic policies aimed at colonizing and illegally annexing the Occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), in violation of international law.

This law comes after the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2334 (2106), reiterating that the establishment of settlements by Israel in the OPT, including East Jerusalem, “has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.” The Resolution also called upon Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.” Rather than comply with the resolution, Israel approved the construction of 6,000 new housing units in the OPT immediately following its passing.

The UN resolution reflects basic principles of international law, which are contravened in the “Regularization” Law. International humanitarian law includes prohibitions against the confiscation or destruction of private property^[4] and prohibitions against pillage.^[5]

The “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly” is a grave breach under the Fourth Geneva Convention and is also considered a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Israel’s transfer of settlers into the oPtas well as forcible transfer of Palestinians within the oPt are also prohibited under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and constitute grave breaches under article 147 and a war crime and/or crime against humanity under Article 7 and Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

PHROC and others have repeatedly called upon the international community to abide by their international obligations and hold Israel accountable for its continuous violations of international law. We reiterate this call and urge the UN and third states to act immediately by imposing sanctions against Israel and taking all measures within their control to ensure the protection of fundamental Palestinian rights. After 50-years of occupation and as Israel’s actions become increasingly brazen, the world should no longer turn a blind eye to Israel’s colonization of Palestine and its impact on Palestinian lives.

-End-

[1] Andrew Carey and EmanuellaGrinburg, Israel’s Parliament Passes West Bank Outposts Bill, CNN, 7 February 2017, available at 
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/06/middleeast/israel-knesset-west-bank-outposts-bill/

[2]Id.

[3] Notably, this law was passed against the backdrop of an unprecedented demolition campaign by Israeli forces in East Jerusalem and Area C, resulting in the forced displacement of thousands of Palestinians. More specifically, during 2016, Israel demolished 575 Palestinian structures displacing 1,681 people.

[4] Article 46 of Hague Regulations, Article 53 of Fourth Geneva Convention and Rule 51 of International Customary Law

[5] Article 47 of Hague Regulations.

This week, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) submitted information to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in the Palestinian Territories Occupied Since 1967 for his upcoming report to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2017. The submission highlights the repressive environment within which human rights defenders (HRDs) work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including East Jerusalem. In the OPT, HRDs carrying out their day-to-day work are subjected to highly oppressive measures imposed by Israel’s illegal regime of occupation and the closure/blockade of Gaza, including severe restrictions on freedom of movement, association and assembly, travel bans, concerted efforts to discredit and criminalize their work, an escalation of verbal threats and physical violence, incarceration under military and administrative orders, and a lack of access to any channels for effective remedy.

The submission provides details on specific violations of the rights of staff working for Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Addameer – Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling as well as field researchers working with civil society groups, advocates of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (who have been subjected to serious verbal threats alluding to violence and deprivation of basic rights made by Israeli government ministers), media correspondents and aid workers in Gaza. However, the cases noted by PHROC are not isolated, instead standing only as examples of the types of harassment and intimidation to which HRDs working in the OPT are systematically subjected.

In response to the realities faced by Palestinian human rights defenders, PHROC urges the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in the OPT to:

• Call on Israeli authorities to respect the rights of human rights defenders carrying out their work – in both Gaza and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem); stop applying the jurisdiction of the military courts in the OPT to civilians; allow Palestinian media outlets shut down under Israeli military orders to be re-opened, and release all Palestinian detainees being held on account of their political views or activities;
• Call on all states to ensure that threats and attacks against Palestinian human rights defenders working in the OPT (including in East Jerusalem), Israel and abroad are investigated, and that responsible parties are held accountable;
• Call on diplomatic representatives of states, the EU and the office of the OHCHR in the OPT to extend effective protection to all HRDs, including those active in the BDS movement.
• Call on all state parties to respect and protect the right of their citizens and civil society groups to freely advocate for an end of the Israel’s illegal occupation and respect of the human rights of the Palestinian people, including through advocacy for BDS.
• Affirm the obligation of companies, particularly those with headquarters or parent companies outside of Israel, to refrain from providing equipment that could be used to intercept or harm the work of Palestinian human rights defenders, and for social media providers to refrain from censoring individuals and organizations that defend the rights of Palestinian people; and
• Arrange a visit to the OPT to speak directly with HRDs at the earliest date possible.

The submission can be read here:http://demo.hurryyat.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/PHROC.Submission.to_.UN_.SR_.on_.the_.OPT_.Re_.HRDs_.Nov2016.pdf

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) expresses its full supportof the Women’s Boat to Gaza, with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, to break the Israeli closure of the Gaza Strip. PHROC calls upon the international community to support the voyage of the Boat until it reaches Gaza’s shores in an expression of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip andin rejection of the illegal and inhumane closure imposed on the Strip for over 10 years. Theclosure  constitutes a form of collective punishment, in violation of international humanitarian law, and rises to the level ofa crime against humanity that should be terminated and thus its perpetrators should be prosecuted.

According to availableinformation, the Women’s Boat to Gaza Campaign, comprised of Al-Amal and Al-Zaituna ships, launchedon Friday, 23 September 2016, from Messina port in Italy towards the Gaza Strip. The female activists on board announced they were sailing towards the Gaza Strip with a message of peace the elimination of injustice, and solidarity with the besieged Palestinian people. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition consistsof a group of international organizations that support the Palestinian people’s right tofreedom and ending the Israeli occupation. The Coalition organized this voyage in which a group of female activists and public figures, including Nobel Peace Laureates, from around 20 countries, participated to end the inhumane closure imposed on the Gaza Strip.

PHROC welcomes the Freedom Flotilla initiative which coincides with the tenth anniversary of the closure’s imposition. Furthermore PHROC believes this action is important in the face of  international silence over Israel’s continued violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.. PHROC also appreciates the international solidarity expressed by the Campaign.

PHROC calls upon civil society organizations and all Arab and international solidarity campaigns to support the safe arrival of the Women’sBoat to the Gaza shore to break the illegal closure on the Gaza Strip imposed for more than 10 years. PHROC further calls on states and international organizations to ensure that Israeli authorities respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and guarantee the safety and security of the boat and its passengers.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council warns that the Israeli Occupation Forces aims to impose further control over the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, West Bank, by changing the campus of the Mosque under the pretext of security.

The Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs) is a major Palestinian historical, architectural, and archaeological site. The Hebron Rehabilitation Committee has helped preserve the site since 1996. Moreover, the old town of Hebron, including the Ibrahimi Mosque, is registered on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage sites in Palestine.

Beginning in July, the Israeli Occupation Forces started building stone rooms in front of the northern gate of the Mosque to replace the “temporary” checkpoints, with the intent of imposing a permanent status quo. This preliminary step towards taking control of the Mosque, comes along with several other procedures that aim to impede the movement of Palestinians in the old town of Hebron, and will lead to the further isolation of the old town from the rest of Hebron.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) warns that through the construction of a permanent checkpoint, Israel aims to take further control of the Ibrahimi Mosque. PHROC denounces the severe limitations on Palestinians’ rights to freedom movement and worship, and calls upon the international community and international organizations to take action to stop Israel’s policy of creating “facts on the ground” through the creation of permanent structures in the OPT that further its control over Palestinian land.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) is gravely concerned with the continuing campaign of attacks and threats against human rights defenders and employees of PHROC member organizations, including Al-Haq, Al-Mezan, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), and The Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights (BADIL), by the Israeli authorities and associated organizations. In addition to cyber attacks, the campaign against the organizations also included contacting funders and local and international partners of these organizations in an attempt to discredit them. Intimidation and death threats over e-mail and phone calls were also carried out by anonymous sources against staff members of the aforementioned organizations.

These threats are part of a systematic and planned campaign that began in mid-2015, with the intent to disrupt the work of organizations, defame them, and impact their funding. The attacks come as a result of the organizations’ work to ensure accountability for Israel’s grave violations of international law. Notably, attacks escalated following the organizations’ submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its preliminary examination of the situation in Palestine.

PHROC calls on relevant local and international authorities to conduct immediate investigations into the serious threats against human rights organizations and their staff members in OPT and abroad. PHROC will follow up on this matter by reaching out to representative offices, UN bodies, and local and international partners in order to combat such threats and ensure the safety of its staff. PHROC affirms that it will continue its work at the ICC in order to ensure accountability for crimes committed in the OPT.

On 27 July 2016, the Israeli Military Court of Appeals released its decision to confirm the administrative detention of hunger striking administrative detainee Bilal Kayed. The decision recognized that the issuance of an administrative detention order against the detainee Bilal Kayed on the day of his scheduled release constitutes severe mental harm against the detainee and disregard to his rights, and that it causes severe psychological suffering.

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a member organization of the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) submitted an appeal to the Israeli Military Court of Appeals against the administrative detention order of Bilal Kayed on 13 June 2016. The administrative detention order was issued on the day of the scheduled release of date of Mr. Kayed, after he had served a 14 and a half year sentence. Addameer who legally represents Bilal Kayed considers that the administrative detention of Bilal Kayed constitutes psychological torture, as well as contravening international law with regards to the limitations of administrative detention in narrowly defined circumstances with a genuine threat to security.

The decision of the court states that the secret information confirms the security threat that the release of Mr. Kayed would pose, but states that this information refers to the activities of Mr. Kayed before his arrest (over 14 years ago) and his intentions upon release.

Yesterday, 27 July 2016, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association visited Mr. Kayed in Barzilai Medical Center, who has been on hunger strike since 15 June 2016. The attorney stated that Mr. Kayedwas handcuffed to the hospital bed, guarded by three soldiers, and severely restricted in movement within the room. Mr. Kayed has refused to undertake blood tests since the beginning of his hunger strike, and he has lost sight temporarily twice in the past week. His bodily functions are severely threatened, and he has a previous medical condition in the function of his kidney.

Occupation Authorities use administrative detention in a widespread and systematic manner, in contravention with international human rights and humanitarian law, under which this form of detention should take place only in emergency situations, and in which basic due rights are due. The case of Mr. Kayed’s administrative detention exemplifies the policy’s obstruction of an adequate means of legal defense under judicial process.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) considers the practice of the Military Appeals Court in administering the use of administrative detention a method of systematic psychological torture, in violation of international conventions, particularly article 78 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The Council further considers the policy of administrative detention to be arbitrary detention in systemic violation of international law. The practice has received widespread condemnation locally and internationally, as  a gross violation of fundamental human rights. The Council therefore calls upon international organizations including the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the European Union, as well as High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Conventions, to carry out their obligations to carry out protection of human rights and adhere to international humanitarian law in times of conflict and occupation.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council calls for intervention by International institutions and lobbying to the Israeli government for the release of Bilal Kayed and an end to the policy of administrative detention. The Council also underlines  the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee Against Torture’s (CAT) review of Israel released on 13 May, which stated that Israel should “urgently take the measures necessary to end the practice of administrative detention and ensure that all persons who are currently held in administrative detention are afforded all basic legal safeguards.”

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) calls for the immediate release of hunger striking administrative detainee Bilal Kayed, who has been on hunger strike for 30 days. We have been informed by attorneys that Mr. Kayed has refused to undergo any medical examinations and to take any vitamins or salt supplements. He is currently only consuming water. He feels tiredness, dizziness, weakness, and inability to fall asleep. His weight has fallen significantly since his hunger strike. Mr. Kayed’s health severely deteriorates and will be transferred to a hospital. Mr. Kayed has lost consciousness due to his health condition.

Bilal Kayed, a 35-year-old Palestinian from Nablus, was arrested in 2001 and sentenced to 14-and-a-half years. He was previously placed in isolation in Rimon prison since September 2015 until his scheduled release on 13 June 2016. However, a six-month administrative detention order was issued against him on the same day of his scheduled release, immediately after which he was placed back in isolation. Mr. Kayed has been on hunger strike since 15 June 2016 in protest of his detention without charge or trial.

The Israeli occupation policy of administrative detention is used in a widespread and systematic manner, which violates international human rights and humanitarian law. Administrative detention can be only usedinemergency situations, but requires that the authorities follow basic rules for detention, including a fair hearing at which the detainee can challenge the reasons for his or her detention. These minimum standards of due process have been clearly violated in Mr. Kayed’s case, leaving him without any legitimate legal means to defend himself. The military court’s order of administrative detention without having any clear evidence or conducting a serious investigation about the credibility of the information used against Mr. Kayedis arbitrary and contrary to relevant international norms and conventions; especially Article 78 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

PHROC holds that the use of administrative detention as a policy practiced by Israel, the occupying Power, is systemic and arbitrary, in contravention with international law. The use of administrative detention has attracted widespread condemnation from local and international organizations as a violation of fundamental human rights. Therefore, PHROC calls on all international organizations, including the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the European Union, and all High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to fulfill their obligations towards protecting human rights and enforcing the implementation of international humanitarian law, especially when grave breaches are being perpetrated in times of conflict and occupation. We call for pressure on the Israeli government to immediately release Mr. Kayed and end the use of administrative detention. PHROC affirms concluding observations of the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT), 13 May 2016, which called on the Israeli government to “[t]ake the measures necessary to end the practice of administrative detention and ensure that all persons who are currently held in administrative detention are afforded all basic legal safeguards.” PHROC calls for administrative detention, as practiced by the Israeli authorities, to be recognized as a form of psychological torture that should be prohibited in line with the UN Convention Against Torture.