At the close of its 40th regular session, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council adopted on Friday, 22 March 2019, four resolutions on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including on accountability within the context of the Great Return March, adopting the recommendations of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the 2018 OPT Protests.[1].

The Israeli occupying authorities and forces have systematically confiscated and demolished public and private Palestinian property since the beginning of the occupation in 1967. Over the past five decades, Israel has appropriated and confiscated hundreds of thousands of dunums of Palestinian land in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including through the construction of the Annexation Wall, the confiscation of land for military use, nature reserves and the appropriation of Palestinian land as Israeli “state land”.^[1] The aim has been to attain the maximum amount of land, while ensuring minimal Palestinian presence. Meanwhile, Israel continues to demolish and destroy Palestinian private property, including homes, agricultural structures and animal sheds, primarily in East Jerusalem and Area C of the OPT. In January^[2] and February^[3] of 2019, alone, Israel demolished 45 Palestinian owned structures. In the last week of February 2019 for example, a private structure used for agricultural purposes in Qalqiliya was demolished, while 400 olive and almond trees were uprooted and confiscated in Jenin.

On 12 and13 February 2019, Israel held the 25th International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM 2019) in Tel Aviv, a tourism exhibition for the local Israeli tourist industry. IMTM 2019 exhibition was sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Israel Hotel Association, Israel Tourist and Travel Agents Association and Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association, and others including, the Jerusalem Development Authority, International Air Services, Passport News, Ynet, TelAvivYafo, UFTAA, El Al Airlines, and Israel Travel News and ORTRA Meeting Point. The event featured a number of public lectures, including lectures hosted by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, private networking opportunities and a massive hall showcasing exhibits and booths of national and international tourist destinations.

Al-Haq condemns the ongoing violations committed by the acting authority in the Gaza Strip against peaceful demonstrators, demanding improvements in their living conditions, as well as the attacks against human rights defenders and journalists in the exercise of their professional duties. Al-Haq warns against the continuance of these attacks and their serious impact on the human rights situation in the Gaza Strip. Moreover, Al-Haq calls on the acting authority to end these violations, to open credible and transparent investigations into incidents of assaults to ensure that individuals, including those who ordered the commission of these assaults, are held accountable, and to guarantee redress for victims and provide guarantees of non-reoccurrence.