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This newsletter informs about recent and upcoming activities of Civil Society Organizations working on the question of Palestine. The Committee and the Division for Palestinian Rights of the UN Secretariat provide the information “as is” without warranty of any kind, and do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in the websites linked in the newsletter.?

Middle East

• On?31 March,? strongly denounced the Israeli Knesset’s rapid consideration and adoption of the Death Penalty Law aimed at Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. The NGO stressed that the Death Penalty Law, in its current form, should be considered a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute established for the International Criminal Court. Palestinian detainees are processed by military courts which violate the very basic principles of fair trials. Al-Mezan called upon the international community to ensure that Israel abides by its obligations under international law, and that for perpetrators of war crimes to be called to account. Victims must be guaranteed justice, including compensation and redress.
• On 31 March,? – together with Members of the Israeli Parliament Aida Touma-Sliman, Ayman Odeh, and Ahmed Tibi – filed an urgent petition to the Israeli Supreme Court, demanding that the Death Penalty Law be declared null and void. The petitioners argue that the law represents a complete negation of the right to life and imposes cruel and inhuman punishment. The petitioners emphasize that the law cannot apply, directly or indirectly, to Palestinians residing in the West Bank, as they constitute a protected population under occupation, based on Regulation 43 of the Hague Regulations, which serves as the foundational norm in the West Bank as occupied territory.
• On?30 March,?the? sent an open letter to commend the work being done by the Hague Group and reaffirming the calls to action that have emerged from the meeting of 4 March 2026, particularly the willingness of the Hague Group’s participating states to commit to protecting the viability of the framework of an international rule of law and to pursue an end to Israel’s illegal occupation. PHROC further calls on the Hague Group to take domestic and international accountability measures, such as the sanction of individual settlers and settler organizations and the implementation of a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, which prohibits the transfer, transit, or carriage of any and all arms, munitions, military fuel, or dual-use items to Israel.
• On 30 March, ?published?its 2025 annual report?summarizing the NGO’s work in defending the rights of Palestinian?detainees and prisoners in Israeli detention, Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem?and the right to freedom of movement including access to Palestinian lands beyond the Separation wall.?The NGO?said that?while the fighting in Gaza had subsided over the last months of 2025, a permanent and stable ceasefire has not been fully achieved, and the living situation in the war-torn strip remains dire. Simultaneously, military operations in the West Bank have intensified, and measures that were initially presented as temporary emergency measures have become permanent features of the legal and humanitarian landscape in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as detention sites.
• On 30 March,? issued the press release “Israel Turning Execution of Palestinians into Official State Policy”. It states that Israel was reaching a new low in the dehumanization of Palestinians, enshrining their cruel treatment in state law, that it already kills Palestinians systematically and faces no demands for accountability, and that under the leadership of top ministers the Israeli system is day by day becoming a system that normalizes the killing and injury of human beings. As of March 2026, about 9,500 Palestinians were being held in inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons, roughly half of them under administrative detention or as “unlawful combatants,” without trial and with no ability to defend themselves.
• On 30 March,??issued?the “Position Paper on?Trump’s?2025 Plan”?to provide a legal and human rights analysis of the situation in the Gaza Strip in light of the plan announced by the US President on 29 September 2025 to end the war in the Gaza Strip (the “Comprehensive Plan to End Conflict in Gaza”).
• On 25 March,? informed of the eviction of 15 families in Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, after large forces of Israeli security forces raided a neighbourhood. The NGO reminded of the ICJ Advisory Opinion, which specifically referred to the Israeli settlement policy in occupied East Jerusalem and the discriminatory system of laws, in particular the Absentees’ Properties Law, which results in the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in favor of Israeli settlers. The court had ruled that this policy constitutes a violation of international law.
• On 17 March,??denounced?Israel’s dual-use policy in Gaza,?based on?which it defines?thousands of essential items needed for industry, healthcare, and basic civilian infrastructure as “dual-use” and bars or severely restricts their entry to the Gaza Strip. The official list of these items, which are civilian in nature but, according to Israel, could also serve a military purpose, includes everyday items like construction materials, chemicals, equipment, and spare parts. The NGO explained that the Israeli authorities never published comprehensive information about what was allowed or prohibited. Gisha calls on Israel to provide everything necessary for the maintenance of normal life of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, and at a minimum facilitate the ability of international aid organizations and the private sector to bring in goods and to immediately open all existing crossings.
  

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On?30?March,?the? issued a press release on the occasion of Palestine Land Day informing that, to commemorate this day and honor Palestinian resilience, ECCP and partners were organizing some actions in European cities.
• On?30 March,??issued?the press release “Newly Adopted Death Penalty Law Must Be Repealed”.?According to the NGO, the new law explicitly creates two legal frameworks for the use of the death penalty in the occupied West Bank, excluding illegally annexed East Jerusalem, and Israel. Military courts in the occupied West Bank will?be authorized to?impose the death penalty against Palestinians convicted of deliberate killings in actions that are defined as terrorist acts under Israel’s discriminatory counter-terrorism law.?The international community?should?exert maximum pressure on the Israeli authorities to?immediately?repeal this law, fully abolish the death penalty, and dismantle all laws and practices that contribute to the system of apartheid against Palestinians,?said Amnesty International.
• On 23 March,??issued?the report “Torture and Genocide: A summary of?the UN Special Rapporteur’s Report on Israel’s Systematic Use of Torture Against Palestinians Since 7 October?2023”.?The report outlines how Palestinian people are being subjected to multiple forms of torture?and?types of violence?both through?custodial?and?non-custodial?forms of torture. The former manifests in the brutal practices of Israel’s detention system and the broader carceral regime.

North?America

• On?2 April,??issued a statement highlighting?its outrage over the Israeli parliament’s decision to approve a bill that makes death penalty effectively mandatory in the occupied West Bank and which will de facto apply exclusively to Palestinians. The NGO added that the time for action was long overdue and calls on the European Union to uphold its stated principles and legal obligations by finally suspending, as a minimum immediate measure, the trade component of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and adopting other measures, as proposed by EU Commission President von der Leyen in September 2025.
• On 30 March,? issued a statement on the restrictions to religious freedom in Jerusalem. CMEP said it was?deeply concerned by the recent decision by Israeli authorities to bar Cardinal Pizzaballa from presiding over Palm Sunday observances at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest sites in Christianity. This action represented an “unacceptable restriction on the free exercise of religion in the Holy City”. At a time when tensions are already high, protecting access to holy places and respecting the rights of worshippers is not only a legal obligation but a moral imperative.
• On 30 March,?the??hosted?Mara Kronenfeld, Executive Director of UNRWA USA?to?discuss the role of UNRWA in the lives of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon and especially in the?occupied?West Bank and Gaza?

United?Nations

• On?31 March, the?UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People?issued?its quarterly newsletter for the period of January-March 2026.?On?30 March?the Committee?issued?its compilation of UN resolutions and decisions on the Question of Palestine adopted in 2025 (DPR publication?A/AC.183/L.2/Add.47).
• On?31 March,??Volker Türk urged Israel to repeal a law passed by its parliament on 30 March reinstating the death penalty, in terms applicable?almost exclusively?to Palestinians.?“I?urge the Knesset to reject this bill. By focusing exclusively on crimes committed by Palestinians, it would institutionalize discriminatory and one-sided justice,”?he?said.?Under international human rights law, trials of civilians before military courts are prohibited, except in strictly exceptional circumstances where the State can?demonstrate?that such courts are necessary and justified by serious and compelling reasons, and where regular civilian courts are unable to undertake the trials.
• On?26 March,?OHCHR?issued?the?, including Item 61 on the human rights situation in the OPT, including East Jerusalem and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice.?