Category: Reports

Reports

Developments in the economy of the Occupied PalestinianTerritory

Posted on | United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

In Gaza, the military operation decimated the remaining infrastructure an precipitated an unprecedented humanitarian and environmental crisis, as the gross domestic product fell by 81 per cent in the last quarter of 2023 and unemployment soared to 79 per cent. Prior to October 2023, 80 per cent of Gazans depended on international assistance. By the end of the year, multidimensional poverty had affected the entire population. The West Bank and East Jerusalem were not spared, as violence spread and the occupying Power tightened long-standing restrictions on movement and access. The quarterly gross domestic product shrank by 19 per cent and unemployment reached 32 per cent.

Reports

Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Gaza

Posted on | Hamdan Taha | Jerusalem Quarterly

Since the start of the current war on Gaza, the Palestinian cultural heritage has been undergoing widespread destruction, assuming the contours of a systematic cultural obliteration which has targeted ancient sites, historic and religious buildings, the cultural scene as a whole, museums, cultural and academic buildings, public buildings and infrastructure works. The present paper offers a brief summary of policies to do with cultural heritage in Palestine, protecting cultural heritage in international humanitarian law, the role of UNESCO and similar organizations, a preliminary assessment of the destruction done to cultural sites, mechanisms for judicial follow-up, future action to be taken to assess the damage, and framing plans and programs for recovery and rebuilding.

Reports

Targeting childhood: Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank

Posted on | Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP)

The report, “Targeting Childhood: Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank,” details and analyzes Palestinian child fatalities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023, and July 31, 2024. Israeli forces routinely targeted Palestinian children with live ammunition and aerial attacks, prevented ambulances and paramedics from reaching wounded children, and confiscated children’s bodies in violation of international law.

Columns

Jewish Faculty Response to Columbia University Task Force Report on Anti-Semitism

Posted on

“We write as Jewish faculty of Columbia and Barnard in response to the Antisemitism Task Force’s second report, which documents a number of disturbing incidents and student experiences. We join the report’s authors in abhorring all instances of harassment, intimidation, and violence against students for being Jewish, and agree that at Columbia, “[n]o one should feel excluded, marginalized, disrespected, or unheard.” We are writing to demonstrate how the report undermines these fundamental values by subjecting the incidents described to analysis and framing that misrepresent their meaning and implications. We are troubled by the way the widely publicized report contributes to a hostile narrative about Columbia, which is used to justify interference in the institution’s governance and operations.”

News

Haaretz Investigation: Israeli Army Uses Palestinian Civilians to Inspect Potentially Booby-trapped Tunnels in Gaza

Posted on | Michael Hauser Tov | Yaniv Kubovich | Haaretz

‘Our lives are more important than their lives’: Gazans not suspected of terrorism are detained and sent as human shields to search tunnels and houses before IDF soldiers enter, in the full knowledge of senior Israeli officers, several sources say; IDF claims this practice is forbidden

News

Restrictions and violence block Palestinians in Hebron from medical care

Posted on | Médecins sans frontières
  • Since the war in Gaza, Israeli forces have increased restriction and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank governorate of Hebron, Palestine.
  • The harassment and movement restrictions have had a devastating impact on people’s mental and physical health.
  • The restrictions and violence impede access to healthcare, both for those who need to seek it and those who provide it, with clinics closed.
  • MSF calls on the Israeli authorities to guarantee unimpeded access to healthcare and other essential services.
Reports

Welcome to Hell: The Israeli Prison System as a Network of Torture Camps

Posted on | B'Tselem

“Welcome to Hell” is a report on the abuse and inhuman treatment of Palestinians held in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023. B’Tselem collected testimonies from 55 Palestinians held during that time and released, almost all with no charges. Their testimonies reveal the outcomes of the rushed transformation of more than a dozen Israeli prison facilities, military and civilian, into a network of camps dedicated to the abuse of inmates as a matter of policy. Facilities in which every inmate is deliberately subjected to harsh, relentless pain and suffering operate as de-facto torture camps.