25.4.2019, Ramallah – Al-Haq Center for Applied International Law has concluded a three-day international law orientation course for diplomatic staff and employees of international organizations currently in the OPT. The course was held at the Al-Haq Center for Applied International Law in Ramallah, on 22-24 April, 2019, and was attended by 30 participants from different countries representing diplomatic missions, international workers, students and few Palestinian professionals working for international organizations. The orientation course included presentations by Al-Haq legal professionals on key legal issues in regards to the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) and their applications.

On 10 April 2019, Omar Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian human rights defender and co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement for Palestinian rights (BDS), was denied entry to the United States (US) at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, despite having the required valid travel documents. So far, Barghouti has not been notified as to why he has been denied entry to the US.

Since 30 March 2019, Palestinians have gathered every Friday to protest and participate in the Great Return March. In response, the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) have systematically and forcefully suppressed the peaceful protests along the Gaza fence with unnecessary and excessive force, including lethal force. To date, 204 Palestinians, including 46 children, seven persons with disability, three paramedics and two journalists have been killed as a result of Israel’s disproportionate use of force, firing live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters indiscriminately at protesters. The information provided below is based on Al-Haq’s field documentation throughout the Great Return March protests between the one-year mark of the Great Return March, on 30 March, and 19 April 2019.

On Tuesday 16 April 2019, the Jerusalem District Court upheld the work permit revocation of Human Rights Watch (HRW) Israel and Palestine Director Omar Shakir and gave him until 1 May 2019 to leave the country. This alarming decision is part of an ongoing attempt to hinder Mr. Shakir in his work as leading human rights defender as well as a flagrant violation of his basic rights to movement and freedom of expression. The case represents the first application of Amendment No. 28 of the Entry into Israel Law against a person lawfully present in Israel.