On 1 September 2021, the Israeli High Court of Justice (IHCJ) confirmed that Israeli soldiers can enter and search Palestinian homes in the West Bank without a judicial warrant, whereas warrants are needed to search the homes of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank. The decision followed a petition by Israeli human rights organisations and Palestinian individuals seeking to limit the military’s wide power to enter and search Palestinian homes without a warrant. The decision was reported by Military Court Watch.
LPHR Human Rights Blog
Raising arbitrary student detention at the United Nations: Fobzu’s interview with LPHR
In August, our colleagues at the UK charity, Friends of Birzeit University (Fobzu), conducted an in-depth interview with LPHR’s Aleisha Ebrahimi, following the significant decision of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that three female Birzeit University students are being unlawfully arbitrarily detained. The illuminating interview is republished below with Fobzu’s kind permission. [Read more…]
Use of force against Palestinian demonstrators and medical personnel
In the context of the imminent illegal dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem, it has been documented that Israel’s forces have been using excessive force against peaceful Palestinian demonstrators and also targeted Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) personnel. This blog explores the applicable legal framework and consequences. [Read more…]
Gaza Electricity Crisis Deepens Further Amidst Military Action
The Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights has reported that the Gaza Strip is currently suffering from a 76% deficit in electrical supplies due to the ongoing military action in Gaza by Israel’s forces, which has been codenamed ‘Operation Guardian of the Walls’.
The available power supply in the Gaza Strip as of 19 May stands at around 107mw, which is significantly lower than the estimated 400MW that is required to meet the needs of the area. The adverse impacts are multifaceted. For example, due to lack of power supply, three main seawater desalination plants providing services for more than 400,000 people have suspended operation and more than 100,000 cubic metres of untreated or partially treated wastewater are being discharged to the sea daily.
Settler violence surges in the void of lack of international action against settlements
On 10 March 2021, Saeed Alyan Awad, a Palestinian, was brutally attacked by Israeli settlers whilst on his way to check on his land to the south of Hebron in the Israeli occupied West Bank. Saeed, who was accompanied by his wife and children, sustained a cracked skull and broken jaw. His wife suffered severe bruises to her leg.
Overview of Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria on the tenth anniversary of the Syrian conflict
On the tenth anniversary of the Syrian conflict, LPHR remain gravely concerned about the Palestinian refugee camp, Yarmouk, in Syria. LPHR has continuously monitored the acute human rights and humanitarian concerns which are rife in Yarmouk, with the latest of two legal Q&As being published in March 2019 (it can be read here).
This blog to mark the tenth anniversary provides a summary of the situation of Yarmouk refugee camp over the last ten years. In so doing, it also emphasises the necessity for legal accountability for apparent serious violations of international law that has caused catastrophic civilian harm.
Child fatalities arising from Gaza’s ongoing electricity crisis
Defence for Children International Palestine (DCIP) has recently reported on the fatal dangers of Gaza’s ongoing electricity crisis. DCIP reports that on 1 September 2020, three young Palestinian children from the same family died when their home caught on fire in the Gaza Strip. The three brothers from the al-Hazin family, five-year-old Yousef, four-year-old Mahmoud, and two-year-old Mohammad, lived in Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip. In late summer, electricity was only available intermittently, about four hours per day. According to DCIP, the boys’ father Omar al-Hazin charges a battery each day to light their home. He was unable to charge the battery on 1 September, so he lit a candle and placed it beside a wood-framed window covered with a plastic screen. [Read more…]
LPHR interview on the growing military targeting of Palestinian university students and the launch of the Tom Hurndall Student Protection Project
Last month, our colleagues at the excellent UK charity, Friends of Birzeit University (Fobzu), published an interview with LPHR on the increasing Israeli military targeting of Palestinian university students. The interview was conducted soon after the submission of LPHR’s complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding the ongoing detention of three female Birzeit University students: Layan Kayed, Elyaa Abu Hijla and Ruba Asi. The complaint was jointly submitted with the Palestinian human rights organisation, Addameer.
LPHR nominates Palestinian artist and human rights defender Hafez Omar for Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship 2021
Hafez Omar is a Palestinian artist and a recognised human rights defender based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. His work, which is powerful, visually and politically, has been utilised to educate a global audience on the human rights violations Palestinians face and experience daily under military occupation.
On Human Rights Day, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights can announce that we have nominated Hafez Omar for the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship 2021: “an award which honours the world’s most remarkable free expression heroes.”
Israeli Supreme Court strikes down the ‘Land Regularisation’ Law but fails to condemn illegal settlements and their expansion
On 9 June 2020 the Israeli Supreme Court struck down a law passed in 2017 that provided for the expropriation of private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The ruling, HCJ 1308/17, Silwad Municipality, et al. v. The Knesset, et. al (petition accepted 9 June 2020) (joined by the court with HCJ 2055/17, The Head of Ein Yabrud Village v. The Knesset ), held that the law disproportionately violates Palestinians’ rights to property, equality and dignity.
While a welcome relief against a particularly offensive law that would justify further expropriation of Palestinian land, the judgment is made on a narrow basis that fails to recognise either the underlying illegality of settlements or to be clear on the inappropriateness of the Israeli state passing and reviewing legislation to apply to the occupied West Bank. Before addressing the judgment and its limitations in more detail, a brief history of the Regularisation Law will be provided. [Read more…]