Liverpool marches repeatedly for the Palestinians – see HERE for highlights of one march. Next time is Sunday 21 April
Welcome to the website of Liverpool Friends of Palestine.
On other pages you will find out more about the issues. You’ll also find some recommendations of books, films and so on and some links to other organisations. There’s a ‘basic history’ in the ‘Palestine’ section and there’s even a quiz to test your knowledge! Elsewhere on the net, we have a Facebook page for which you can just follow this link. You can follow us on Twitter at @LiverpoolF78028 and we also have an instagram page.
To join us, either as member or supporter, email to liverpoolfriendsofpalestine.20@gmail.com or use the Contact Us tab on this site.
We list here a number of upcoming events. In addition, if there is a ground invasion of Rafah we will gather outside Lime Street station at 4.30pm on that weekday or 2pm on the weekend. Keep an eye on social media as well as the news for updates.
APRIL
Saturday 20th, 12 noon – Southport Friends of Palestine hold their street demonstration in front of the Atkinson Theatre, Lord Street for an hour.
Saturday 20th, 5pm – Israel, Iran and the threat of wider war, an online briefing with speakers including Trita Parsi (Responsible Statecraft), John Rees (Stop the War), Kate Hudson (CND) and Maryam Eslamdoust (TSSA). Hosted by Stop the War, register free HERE.
Sunday 21st, 2pm – our next march in support of the people of Gaza and the rest of Palestine. Assemble at the Catholic Cathedral and march to speakers at Derby Square.
Sunday 21st, 8pm – Destroying healthcare: Israel’s war on Gaza hospitals, an online film salon with guests including the Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah. Organised by Voices from the Holy Land, register free HERE and watch the film in your own time in advance of this salon which discusses it.
Monday 22nd, 1.30pm – Leafleting outside Barclays bank on Lord Street, highlighting that bank’s support for Israeli apartheid.
Monday 22nd, 4.30pm – Human billboard displaying Palestinian placards and flags on Edge Lane (near the M&S retail park).
Wednesday 24th, 2 to 5pm – National lobby of Parliament in support of the people of Gaza. Organised by Palestine Solidarity Campaign – more details to come.
Saturday 27th – National Demonstration in London for a ceasefire and justice for the Palestinians – a coach will go from Liverpool, to get a seat send whatsapp message to 07708 309117.
MAY
Wednesday 1st, 6.30pm – monthly meeting of Liverpool Friends of Palestine. Agendas etc go out separately to members.
Also Wednesday 1st, 6.30pm – May Day rally for Palestine, online meeting hosted by Labour & Palestine. Speakers include Palestinian ambassador Husam Zomlot, John McDonnell MP and Beth Winter MP. Register free HERE.
Thursday 2nd, 6pm – Arming Israel, an online briefing with Noam Perry of American Friends Service Committee. Hosted by Green Olive Collective, register free HERE.
Monday 6th, 11.30am – Liverpool May Day march, assemble in Derby Square. The traditional labour movement march is this year themed to support the people of Gaza ‘who need our support now more than ever’. Bring banners and flags.
Saturday 11th, 1 to 4pm – Little Walkers for Palestine, a sponsored walk for children. Meet at the Obelisk in Sefton Park. Proceeds to the Gaza Emergency appeal of the Ihsan Children’s Foundation. Register with eventbrite HERE.
Wednesday 15th, 6pm – Joint Nakba Ceremony, streamed live from Palestine by American Friends of Combatants for Peace, register free HERE.
Saturday 18th – National demonstration to mark the Palestinian Nakba, organised by Palestine Solidarity Campaign – more details to come.
Tuesday 21st, 7pm – Peace for Palestine, an evening event forming part of Liverpool’s annual Writing on the Wall festival. Speakers include local poet Amina Atiq. Proceeds to Medical Aid for Palestinians, tickets £5 from HERE.
Thursday 30th, 7pm – Fundraising gig for Palestine, with a number of local artists headlined by Ian Prowse. Organised by Kit It Out and with proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestinians, this event is at the District, 61 Jordan Street L1 0BP. Tickets £7 to £20 from HERE.
DONATIONS AND FUNDRAISING
If you want to help the victims of the Israeli atrocities in Gaza, we suggest you donate online via Medical Aid for Palestinians. Their website map.org.uk has a ‘donate’ button on the home page.
PETITIONS YOU CAN SIGN
Please email your MP to call for a ceasefire and a halt to the attacks on Gaza. You can do this HERE. Three of Liverpool’s MPs (Kim Johnson, Ian Byrne and sometimes Dan Carden) and Birkenhead MP Mick Whitley have signed almost all the Early Day Motions supporting the Palestinians (notably nos.1, 177, 254, 255, 271, 327 and 377 of the current session of Parliament). If you are in the constituency of one of the others (Paula Barker, Maria Eagle) you can invite them (or your own MP, if that is someone else) to do the same. See our page on Early Day Motions which is under the ‘Action’ tab on this site.
An open letter for health care professionals to sign can be found HERE. Over 10,000 have signed so far.
A declaration for film workers can be signed from HERE. Over 6,000 have signed it, not counting many Palestinian colleagues who do not sign any petitions for fear of repercussions for them and their families.
End arms sales to Israel – an open letter initiated by Oxfam, addressed to British ministers, can be signed HERE.
Olly Alexander – withdraw from Eurovision! – call on British Eurovision entrant Olly Alexander to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest because of Israeli participation. An open letter is prepared by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, sign it HERE.
AXA – stop funding genocide!. AXA insurance is a major sponsor of Liverpool Football Club. It has shares in one Israeli bank and in other companies involved in illegal Israeli West Bank settlements. Read more and sign the petition HERE.
Ban Israel from international sports – a petition from eko.org can be signed HERE.
THE LATEST SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION – 25 MARCH
On 25 March the Security Council of the United Nations passed this resolution (no. 2778), with all parties voting in favour except the United States which abstained (but did not veto):
The Security Council,
Guided by the purpose and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Recalling all of its relevant resolutions on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question,
Reiterating its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law and in this regard deploring all attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as all violence and hostilities against civilians and all acts of terrorism and recalling that the taking of hostages is prohibited under international law;
Expressing deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza strip;
Acknowledging the diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, aimed at reaching a cessation of hostilities, releasing the hostages and increasing the provision and distribution of humanitarian aid;
1. Demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address their medical and other humanitarian needs and further demands that the parties comply with their obligations under international law in relation to all persons they detain;
2. Emphasises the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to and reinforce the protection of civilians in the entire Gaza strip and reiterates its demand for the lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale, in line with international humanitarian law as well as resolutions 2712 (2023) and 2720 (2023);
3. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
The South African government broke new ground in January by filing a complaint against Israel at the International Court of Justice. They invited the court to find that Israel is committing genocide and asked for urgent ‘provisional measures’ (the equivalent of an injunction) to stop the military campaign. The case was presented on 11 January and you can watch it on youtube HERE. As most media failed to broadcast it live, actors (including some from Game of Thrones!) have recited the written case and you can access it from HERE. The Israeli reply was the following day (and was broadcast live on BBC);you can watch it on youtube HERE. You can sign a petition in support of the application HERE.
The court issued its first ruling on 26 January. You can read it in full HERE. In summary, it accepted that the case was brought within the rules of the court and concluded that the evidence provided by South Africa was ‘plausible’. It decreed a number of provisional measures. Although it did not call specifically for a ceasefire, it was a strong ruling, as it included an explicit direction to stop killing Palestinians. The Israeli government was required to file a report within a month, detailing progress.
Since then the South African government on 6 March filed a further application for provisional measures; the Israeli government filed a response and a further ruling was issued on 28 March. Again the Israeli government is directed to file a reply within a month. You can follow the case and read the documents from HERE.
As something of a follow-up, the Nicaraguan government has taken a case against Germany for aiding and abetting genocide. An application for provisional measures is due for hearing on 8 and 9 April. You can follow the case from HERE.
See the long statement from Palestine Solidarity Campaign HERE.
A more long-term issue is also before the ICJ in a different form. On 30 December 2022 the UN General Assembly resolved to ask the court for an ‘advisory opinion’ on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and Golan Heights (all seized in 1967). The court can deliver an advisory opinion without there being a dispute between governments. Many governments have filed written arguments and there was a week-long hearing at the end of February. No date is set for the delivery of the opinion. You can follow the case, including all the documents and the televised hearings from HERE.
The ICJ is not to be confused with the International Criminal Court, which has its own investigators and decides whether to prosecute individuals for specific offences. On 20 March Law For Palestine filed a lengthy submission alleging genocide against members of the Israeli war cabinet. A summary of the document is HERE. Whether this leads to a prosecution depends on the discretion of the ICC prosecutor, who has so far shown no desire to take action.
THE ATTACK ON UNRWA
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency is the principal humanitarian organisation operating in Gaza and the West Bank. In the immediate aftermath of the International Court of Justice hearing and its decision on 26 January, the Israeli government paraded a dossier and claimed that UNRWA staffers were helping Hamas. Without considering the evidence, a number of governments (principally the USA, Britain, Germany and France) cut all donations to UNRWA. Commendably, some governments have kept or even increased their support (principally Norway, Belgium, Spain, Portugal).
The attack on UNRWA has been coming for some time and THIS ARTICLE from Jewish Currents sets out the history.
~A number of countries have since resumed their contributions to UNRWA. This is not least because the Israelis have not released the evidence they claimed to have about UNRWA. The Israeli government is nonetheless attempting to banish UNRWA from Gaza altogether.
UNIVERSITY BOYCOTT VOTE
Students at Liverpool University in a March referendum resolved to ask the University to boycott five companies in support of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). The five companies are Amazon (Project Nimbus), Hewlett Packard, Jaguar Land Rover, BAE Systems and Agusta Westland. The vote in the referendum was 1243 to 174.
VOICES FROM THE CHURCHES
A Call for Repentance is issued by Kairos Palestine and other church bodies, you can read it HERE. “Finally, and we say it with a broken heart, we hold western church leaders and theologians who rally behind Israel’s wars accountable for their theological and political complicity in the Israeli crimes against the Palestinians, which have been committed over the last 75 years.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been slow to show up for the Palestinians but issued this long statement on 21 March:
“If nothing changes in the war in Gaza then famine is imminent – this week’s @theIPCinfo report is yet another reminder of that. For some it’s already too late – children are beginning to die of starvation and dehydration. These deaths, and the famine-like conditions in Gaza, are not the result of some unexpected natural disaster; they are human-made. Israel’s prosecution of this war has destroyed large parts of the Gaza Strip – decimating infrastructure essential to human survival. The scarcity of humanitarian access to and within the Strip continues to prevent aid workers from distributing life-saving supplies. We should not become numb to this injustice. It can never be normal for parents to use animal fodder or grass to feed their children. International humanitarian law is resolutely clear that all parties to a conflict must allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. That is especially true for Israel as the occupying power and applies urgently in northern Gaza, despite the many challenges of delivering aid in a war zone. Israel’s planned military ground operation in the South will only further worsen an already intolerable situation. Parachuting aid or building temporary harbours is unlikely to meet the urgent and monumental humanitarian needs of Gaza’s starving population. They are imprecise, inadequate and do not reach those in most need. Reports from the Anglican run Al Ahli hospital in Northern Gaza tell of how US air drops have damaged the hospital’s solar panels and their power capacity. Hundreds of desperate people then entered the hospital taking the aid so that the hospital received nothing. Meanwhile thousands of trucks are stuck in Egypt and Jordan, containing food, shelter and other essentials, because the Government of Israel refuses to give them access. It is unacceptable that the number of aid lorries entering Gaza in March – an average of 169 per day, – remains significantly below the operational capacity of both the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) border crossings. This number is woefully short of the target of 500 trucks per day required to meet the basic humanitarian needs and to avert a famine in Gaza. As I have said before, and I repeat again now: the only effective solution to this catastrophic situation is an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and sustained humanitarian access for the provision of essential supplies and services to those in need. Another way must be found. I continue to pray for the Palestinian Christian community in Gaza and the West Bank, for the people of Palestine and Israel, and for justice, peace and security for all the peoples of the Holy Land.”
The Liverpool Catholic Justice and Peace Commission issued this statement on 20 December: “The events on 7th October have caused immense suffering to the people of Israel, and the subsequent and continuing attempts to defeat Hamas are causing extreme suffering to the people of Gaza. Bearing in mind the pain of both populations, we call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It is estimated that 18,000 Palestinians have been killed in the recent conflict including thousands of children, in what the UN have described as ‘a graveyard for children.’ In addition the people of Gaza are suffering displacement from their homes with estimates that in southern Gaza, Rafah, with a population of 280,000 is now hosting well over a million people. An escalation in fighting will not resolve the root causes of this relentless cycle of violence but only sow seeds of greater hatred and animosity.”
STATEMENT FROM PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN, 9 OCTOBER 2023
“Every humanitarian will be appalled and horrified at the scenes we are witnessing after the severe escalation of violence since October 7th.
International law must be the framework within which we judge acts of violence and their legitimacy. International law makes it clear that the deliberate killing of civilians, hostage-taking and collective punishment are war crimes. International law also enshrines the right of a people to resist oppression and military occupation.
An offensive launched from Gaza can only be understood in the context of Israel’s ongoing military occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land, and imposition of a system of oppression that meets the legal definition of apartheid, which under international law constitutes a crime against humanity.
Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel is now at war with Palestinians, but the reality is that Israel has been waging a decades-long war, enacted to enforce a system of occupation, apartheid and colonisation. The immediate context of the attack from Gaza is the intensification of violence by Israel since the election of the most far-right extremist government in its history, elected on a platform of proceeding with the effective annexation of the West Bank.
From the beginning of 2023 up to October 6th, the day before the offensive from Gaza began, Israeli forces had killed 240 Palestinians including 45 children, the highest level of killing since the UN began to keep accurate records in 2005.
Alongside these illegal killings, Palestinians in the West Bank have been subject to intensifying attacks by armed Israeli settlers, enabled and encouraged by Israeli forces. In one week alone 17 Palestinian villages were attacked, homes set ablaze, civilian people killed or severely injured. Applauding these pogroms, Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Finance Minister, publicly called for an entire Palestinian village to be erased.
Beyond this immediate context, Gaza, with a population of over 2 million – of whom 50% are children – has been subjected to an Israeli-imposed blockade for the last 16 years. This collective punishment of an entire population is in absolute defiance of international law. It is worth remembering that 80% of the inhabitants of Gaza are refugees.
On October 8th, the Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant declared “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed.” Benjamin Netanyahu called on civilians to leave Gaza as Israeli forces intend to turn Gaza “into a deserted island” as “we will target each and every corner of the strip”. Knowing that Israel will not allow the people of Gaza to leave the strip, this can only be interpreted as a declaration of the intent to slaughter thousands of innocent civilians.
These crimes are all aspects of a system of rule established over Palestinians since the foundation of the Israeli state via a process of ethnic cleansing that saw over 750,000 expelled or forced to flee from their homes, and denied them their right to return home. Since that Nakba of 1948, Israel has enacted a system of rule designed to sustain a Jewish majority and grant it privileged rights. Across all of historic Palestine – what is now the state of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank – Israel has maintained a system of control and oppression that is now recognised by a consensus across international civil society as meeting the definition of apartheid, a crime against humanity.
It is in this context that we must measure the response of British political leaders. Those who rush to condemn the violence of Palestinians have no moral foundation to do so while they support the maintenance of this system of apartheid: the root cause of this violence. As Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire reminds us, “with the establishment of a relationship of oppression, violence has already begun.” To cast the events of October 7th as an unprovoked act of terrorism erases both the Palestinian people and the facts of their history, which is British history too. Moreover, the decision by the UK Government and the Mayor of London to emblazon public buildings with the flag of Apartheid Israel delivers a deeply concerning message. Given the context outlined above, and the breaches of international law we all know Israel is about to commit, this cannot simply be read as a statement of empathy and support for civilian victims of violence, but as an endorsement of an ongoing military occupation, support for human rights violations and as a green light for the Israeli Government to proceed with a major military assault which will inevitably lead to a huge number of civilian deaths.
Any claims of respect for international law and human rights only carry weight if they are applied without discrimination. You cannot fly the flag of Ukraine and claim solidarity with its struggle against military occupation, while at the same time pledging political support, and selling arms to a state that has been enacting a military occupation for generations.
Over the next few weeks, as this situation inevitably escalates, we will be leading public demonstrations of solidarity with the people of Palestine. We will do so from a framework of supporting the application of international law and principles of human rights. These principles also lead us to stress with utmost vehemence that our grievance is with the actions of the Israeli state and those governments that are complicit with its crimes – we condemn absolutely any attempt to victimise communities in Britain in this context.
We act from a sincere wish to see an end to all violence, especially violence against civilians, but we recognise that this will never be achieved unless the root causes of that violence are addressed. We will do so from a foundation of our enduring support for the right of the Palestinian people to freedom, self-determination and return.”
ETHNIC CLEANSING BY SETTLERS AND SOLDIERS
The Israeli authorities, both civil and military, are doing their best to drive Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank – and if possible out of Palestine altogether. In June 2023 gangs of racist settlers – who live on stolen land in breach of international law – attacked numerous villages around Nablus. They threw stones at farmers and burned and destroyed their olive trees. They also burned schools and vehicles and demolished electricity and water supplies.
Then it was the turn of the Israeli army. On 3 July 2023 over 1,000 soldiers attacked the town of Jenin with the support of armed drones. They ripped up power lines, bulldozed streets and shot to kill. They even stopped ambulances reaching the wounded and attacked hospitals. Hundreds of families, already refugees from the Nakba of 1948, had to leave their homes with their hands in the air.
An appeal to the United Nations from the Palestinian organisation Al-Haq is HERE. See too THIS ARTICLE in Middle East Eye which also comments on the encouragement given by Britain and the USA to these atrocities.
There were similar events earlier this year. On the night of 26 February, hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked Huwara and three nearby Palestinian villages. They torched hundreds of homes (some of them were occupied at the time), businesses, a school and 250 vehicles. One Palestinian man was shot dead in the village of Za’atar. 400 others were injured (many from army teargas) and thirty homes were destroyed. The Israeli military commander in charge of the area described the atrocity as a ‘pogrom’.
These outrages are becoming increasingly common. The human rights group B’Tselem commented succinctly that ‘the pogrom in Huwarah was not an isolated incident, but an extreme example of what the routine of state violence carried out by settlers is like all year around’. It was also not unexpected. The Israeli army knew from social media that the violence was coming and did nothing to protect Palestinians. In fact most of the injuries of the incident were the result of army teargas. The army knew the politicians would not criticise their role. The Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich even called shortly afterwards for the village of Huwara to be ‘wiped out’
Looking a little further back, THIS REPORT from the European Union documents demolitions and land seizures during 2021 and makes you wonder why the same EU does not impose sanctions. One example of the continuing ethnic cleansing is the area South of Hebron that is known as Masafer Yatta. This area has been designated as a ‘firing zone’ for the Israeli army (a thin pretext for clearance and resettlement) and the Israeli courts have in May 2022 given permission to evict the Palestinian inhabitants altogether. The Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem (HERE) asked the International Criminal Court for protection for this area.
Attempts to force Palestinians to leave their homes are not confined to the West Bank. THIS REPORT from December 2021 shows how Palestinians in the Israeli town of Lydd – who are Israeli citizens – encounter similar pressures.
ISRAEL – AN APARTHEID STATE
There are now several reports that document how Palestinians are subjected to Israeli apartheid. This site now has a separate page on the topic (under the ‘Palestine’ tab). The latest report on the issue was brought out by the Palestinian organisation Al-Haq in November 2022; you can find it HERE.
THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST BARCLAYS
Researchers have uncovered that Barclays Bank holds over £1 billion in shares, and provides over £3 billion in loans and underwriting to nine companies whose weapons, components, and military technology have been used in Israel’s armed violence against Palestinians.
Militarised violence against the Palestinian people is a central feature of Israel’s occupation and apartheid regime – including the illegal Apartheid Wall, demolitions of Palestinian homes, brutal armed crackdowns on Palestinian protestors, and indiscriminate bombing campaigns of the Gaza Strip. This system is maintained through the involvement of governments and business enterprises around the world. Financial institutions in the UK provide investment, loans, and other financial services to companies supplying Israel with weapons and military technology used to oppress Palestinians. By providing investment and financial services to these arms companies, Barclays facilitates the provision of weapons and technology for Israel’s repression of Palestinians.
Alongside War on Want and Campaign Against Arms Trade, we’re calling on Barclays Bank to #StopBankingOnApartheid. The campaign launch can be viewed HERE (lasts just over an hour)
STRONG WORDS AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Two reports from the United Nations are unusually outspoken in support of the Palestinians. The Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Human Rights Council reported in September HERE that “there are reasonable grounds to conclude that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is now unlawful under international law owing to its permanence and to actions undertaken by Israel to annex parts of the land de facto and de jure.”
The UN also has a Special Rapporteur reporting on Palestine and her report (also submitted in September) is HERE. Her conclusions are lengthy and trenchant and include this: “Since 1967, Israel has wilfully and intentionally violated the self-determination of the Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory, by preventing their exercise of territorial sovereignty over natural resources, suppressing their cultural identity and repressing Palestinian political character and resistance. In short, Israeli endeavours in the occupied Palestinian territory are indistinguishable from settler-colonialism; by seizing, annexing, fragmenting, and transferring its civilian population to, the occupied territory, Israeli occupation violates Palestinian territorial sovereignty; by extracting and exploiting Palestinians’ resources in order to generate profits benefiting third parties, including “settlers”, it violates Palestinians’ sovereignty over natural resources needed to develop an independent economy; by erasing or appropriating symbols expressing Palestinian identity, the occupation endangers the cultural existence of the Palestinian people; by repressing Palestinian political activity, advocacy and activism, the occupation violates Palestinians’ ability to organize themselves as a people, free from alien domination and control.”
Israel has systematically attacked the rapporteur and 108 civil rights organisations have in January 2023 issued THIS STATEMENT in support.
On 6 December 2022 the General Assembly adopted a further resolution that calls for an increase in support for the Palestinian people: it is resolution 77/30, read it HERE.The Assembly also voted in resolution 77/400 which asks the International Court of Justice for an ‘advisory opinion’ on these questions: ” (a) What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures? (b) How do the policies and practices of Israel referred to (above) affect the legal status of the occupation and what are the legal consequences that arise for all States and the United Nations from this status ?” The vote was 87 in favour, 26 (including the UK) against with 53 abstaining.
The UN also has a regular Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. This committee’s report to the Assembly in December 2022 (HERE) included this passage: “The Committee urges the Government of Israel to refrain from seizing Palestinian land, stop implementing its demolition orders and terminate all forced evictions and forcible displacement of Palestinians, particularly in Area C of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The recent announcement by the occupying Power of measures to expropriate Palestinian land and forcibly displace approximately 1,200 Palestinians from Masafer Yatta is particularly concerning and must be halted.” The Assembly passed resolution 77/L24 (HERE) which calls for a high-profile event on 15 May 2023 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe).
STAND WITH THE SIX
On 19 October 2021 the Israeli Defence Minister announced that six Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations would be designated as ‘terrorist’. This designation applied only to Israeli territory but a subsequent military order extended this designation to cover the West Bank area. The six organisations are Addameer, Defence for Children International Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Workers Committees, the Bisan Centre, Al-Haq and the Union of Palestinian Womens Committees.
This drastic step, that renders the six organisations liable to immediate enforcement action, was not taken suddenly. Five months earlier the Israeli government had circulated a 74-page dossier among European governments that claimed to provide evidence for proscribing those organisations. Those governments were not impressed, however and none of them endorsed the move. The Israeli government is reported HERE as having had another go in January 2022, presenting another unconvincing dossier.
The international mobilisation was swift. The move was described by the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem as ‘an act characteristic of totalitarian regimes’.The six organisations themselves expressed their opposition in a webinar HERE. In Britain, the response of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign can be found HERE, while a statement from the TUC and eleven major trade unions can be found HERE. A statement from members of Parliaments around Europe – on this and other issues – is HERE. You can sign a petition #Standwiththe6 HERE.
The six organisations filed a formal objection to the military order – read it HERE. They highlighted that they were given no opportunity to see the ‘evidence’ against them.
On 3 March 2022 Michele Bachelet, UN Commissioner for Human Rights, said: “These designation decisions were based on vague and unsubstantiated allegations; my Office remains unaware of any credible evidence to support these accusations. A number of member states, notably those providing financial support to these organisations, have also questioned the basis for these decisions. After the end of the reporting period, the Israeli military denied a request by human rights organisations to share the evidence justifying the decisions, citing threats to national security. These designations and declarations by Israeli authorities raise serious concerns that counter-terrorism legislation and military orders are being used to halt, restrict or criminalise legitimate human rights and humanitarian work, including important work on accountability. These measures, adding to a series of actions undermining civil society orgs working for the human rights of Palestinians, constitute an attack on human rights defenders, & seriously inhibit freedoms of association, opinion & expression and the right to public participation.. I call upon Israel to revoke the designations against Palestinian human rights and humanitarian organisations as terrorist or unlawful organisations, absent sufficient evidentiary basis for them.”
In April 2022 the Union of Agricultural Workers Committee was awarded one of the International Ockenden prizes for its garden project in Hebron (see HERE). A penny also dropped with the European Union, who as of July 2022 resumed their support for Al-Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. The EU had stopped funding these organisations under pressure from Israel, but now agreed not just that there was ‘no suspicions of irregularities’, but even that they ‘did not find sufficient ground to open an investigation’.
The resumption of international support, however, has not stopped the Israeli government from further actions. On 18 August 2022 Israeli soldiers invaded the offices of all the organisations, confiscating equipment and sealing the offices closed. The raids included the complete takeover for two hours of St Andrew’s Anglican church in Ramallah (from whom Al-Haq rents an office with a separate entrance). The UN’s special rapporteur for Palestine denounced the raids: “this new illegal action bears testament to their outstanding work for justice and human rights, and the moral panic they are causing the occupier.”
TO KILL A JOURNALIST
The Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh was shot by an Israeli soldier on 11 May 2022. She was covering the Israeli forces’ latest raid on the refugee camp in Jenin (on the West Bank) and was wearing a helmet and a flak jacket (as seen here) clearly identifying her as a press reporter. She was shot in the head, which suggests a precision aim. More detail on the incident is HERE.
Israeli spokespeople tried first to blame a Palestinian gunman. The human rights organisation Btselem immediately showed their account was impossible (see HERE) and a more considered finding from the United Nations (delivered on 24 June) is HERE. The UNs rapporteur has said that the shooting may amount to a war crime. The International Federation of Journalists and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate had already in April this year filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court alleging war crimes by the Israeli forces against journalists (see HERE). The shooting of Shireen Abu Aqleh will be added as further evidence. An Early Day Motion before the British Parliament is HERE and an open letter from over 120 artists is HERE.
Shortly after the shooting, the world witnessed the horrific attack by Israeli soldiers on Shireen’s Christian funeral in Jerusalem, an atrocity that was condemned even by some who are normally subservient to Israeli apartheid. Since then, as reported HERE, the UN has named its annual training programme for Palestinian journalists after Shireen. A briefing from CAABU on this issue can be viewed HERE.
At the beginning of July the Americans examined the bullet that killed Shireen and unsurprisingly said that as it was ‘damaged’ one could not say for certain where it had come from, that ‘gunfire from IDF {Israeli} position was likely responsible’ but that they ‘found no reason to believe this was intentional’. Shireen’s family immediately issued THIS STATEMENT in response.
Only in September did the Israeli authorities finally admit that one of their soldiers had shot Shireen. They repeated the lie that the soldier was returning fire at Palestinian gunmen. Al-Haq and Forensic Architecture later released a detailed analysis confirming that the shooting of the journalist was deliberate: watch it HERE. Shireen’s family are presenting the case to the International Criminal Court as the rest of the international community appears to have lost interest.
In December 2022 the broadcasters Al-Jazeera produced THIS DOCUMENTARY (running time 38 minutes) showing what took place.
CHALLENGES TO ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION
Over 500 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons without charge under what is called ‘administrative detention’. The procedure derives from British regulations from the days when Britain held Palestine under a League of Nations mandate: no formal charge or trial is involved and the detention can be extended indefinitely. A factsheet about the process is HERE. In October 2020 Hisham Abu Hawash was detained in this way. He went on hunger strike to demand his release. After 141 days he was in a coma and close to death. As the journalist Ramzy Baroud wrote HERE, the Israeli government (eventually) feared widespread resistance if he were to die and he was released on 26 February 2022. While his release was good news, hundreds of other Palestinians remain subject to this process.
Palestinian prisoners are now refusing to take part in Israeli courts that deal with administrative detention, citing the inherent unfairness in the procedures. The English version of their statement (20 January 2022) is HERE. Thirty detainees recently held a collective hunger strike against their treatment, which has only recently been suspended while the campaign continues.
For more background on this issue see THIS FACTSHEET prepared by the Institute for Middle East Understanding in September 2021.
The British Government’s position was given in a response to a Parliamentary Question as follows: “We are aware of Israel’s use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary. We call on the Israeli authorities to either charge or release detainees. We are committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention.”
MAPPING PALESTINE
The Balfour Project have put up a Palestinian art exhibition online, that includes maps of Palestine. You can view it HERE.
Another interesting map can be found HERE. Two detailed Palestine maps from 1947 and 1951 are superimposed and you can slide from one to the other. The later map has the lines marking out the West Bank and Gaza strip.
For further pictorial presentations on the situation of Palestinians check out Visualising Palestine whose website is HERE. Maps from the 1940s (produced under the British mandate) have been put online and can be accessed HERE.
THE ISRAEL LOBBY
Labour apologists for Israeli apartheid still have to live with the findings of THIS DOCUMENTARY made by Al-Jazeera. A six-month investigation in 2016 by an undercover reporter produced compelling footage of an Israeli embassy official openly discussing with Labour figures the setting-up of pro-Israel groups and ‘taking down’ politicians up to and including a Government minister. Needless to say there were cries of outrage about the programmes but all the complaints made to Ofcom were dismissed. In fact the programme won a CINE award in the USA.
Then it was the turn of the Conservatives. While holding the post of Development Secretary, Priti Patel spent much of her 2017 ‘holiday’ meeting Israeli government officials and came back with plans to divert British aid money to help Israel’s war effort against Syria (by funding hospitals in the occupied Golan heights for soldiers fighting the Syrian regime). Whoops, the story got out and she had to resign. Was she acting alone? She has since held the office of Home Secretary.
Al-Jazeera have also made an expose of the Israel lobby in the USA. It was kept under wraps for some time but eventually leaked out and can be found on the website of the Electronic Intifada HERE.
OTHER PETITIONS YOU CAN SIGN
International sports
Suspend Israel from international sports until it complies with international law – read and sign HERE.
The Anti-Boycott bill
The Government has introduced a bill to Parliament to stop public authorities boycotting Israel. Sign PSC’s petition against it HERE.
Amazon
Amazon technology is used in the oppression of Palestinians. This Action Network petition calls for Amazon to stop doing business with Israeli apartheid. Sign it HERE.
The Church of England
Open letter from CAMPAIN to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. Read and sign it HERE.
‘Pret Apartheid’
Petition calling on Pret a Manger not to open outlets in Israel. The petition is hosted by Friends of Al Aqsa. Sign it HERE.
Review UK policy
Petition addressed to the UK government to review its policy towards Palestine in the light of the Amnesty International and other reports. Sign it HERE.
Support Masafer Yatta communities
The Israelis are trying to evict the residents of Masafer Yatta (an area of about 20 villages near Hebron) by declaring the area to be a ‘firing zone’. A petition in their support is HERE.
Support Lowkey
There are calls for Spotify to exclude the hugely popular musician Lowkey because of his support for the Palestinians. A petition in support of him is HERE.
Ban European trade with Israeli settlements
If you have European Union citizenship, you can add your name HERE to a European Citizens Initiative that calls for legislation to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements. The initiative is supported by Human Rights Watch and you can read more about it HERE.
Children in Military Custody
Call for an end to the mistreatment of Palestinian minors in Israeli military detention – a petition is HERE.
Stop Arming Israel
Call on the HSBC bank to stop funding the arms trade with Israel: a standard email is HERE.
Give Puma the Boot
Ask selected football clubs to break sponsorship ties with Puma as Puma sponsor Israel’s national football association. A standard email is HERE.
Keep Palestine on the map
Googlemap simply does not mention Palestine at all. The petition to include is HERE. The petition now has over 2.25 million signatures.