European Legal Support Center (ELSC), PAX, Oxfam Novib, SOMO, and The Rights Forum are hosting a webinar on shrinking space in Area C of the occupied Palestinian territories. The event will take place on Thursday, February 4, from 15:00 until 16:30 CET.
The link to sign up for webinar can be found below.
What: a webinar on Area C of the occupied Palestinian territories, specifically in light of suppression of civic space and within the framework of ongoing de-facto annexation.
When: Thursday, February 4, 15:00-16:30 CET.
Speakers: Sarit Michaeli (B’Tselem), Suha Jarrar (Al-Haq) and Nils Mollema (formerly Al-Haq). The webinar will be moderated by Shane Stevenson, who is the Country Director for Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.
Language: English.
Register and more information: via this link.
Al-Haq recently published ‘Deprived of a Voice: An Investigation into Shrinking Space in Area C‘. The report examines the daily harassment of human rights defenders by the Israeli Occupying Force (IOF) and Israeli settlers from illegal settlements in Area C. In doing so, the report examines how human rights defenders, including human rights field workers, journalists, medical personnel and volunteers, are targeted and silenced in Area C, in an attempt by Israel to shrink Palestinian space for critical human rights work. During the webinar the report will be discussed and be looked at within the framework of ongoing de-facto annexation. Furthermore, efforts by Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations to counter this trend and how international actors can contribute to this will be elaborated on.
Furthermore, Sarit Michaeli (B’Tselem) will address Israeli policies in Area C as part of the wider de facto annexation of the area. This will be done in light of the position paper B’Tselem published last week, titled ‘A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid‘. In the position paper, B’Tselem argues for the first time that Israel should be regarded as an apartheid regime from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Sarit Michaeli (B’Tselem) is currently the international advocacy officer for B’Tselem and has been an integral part of B’Tselem’s staff since October 2004. Before becoming the internal advocacy officer she was the organization’s spokesperson for 12 years. Before joining B’Tselem she worked extensively in the fields of journalism, graphic design and translation. In addition, she was active in social change movements, both in Israel and internationally, as well as working with the diplomatic community and international civil society groups. Sarit holds a Master’s Degree (Distinction) in Gender Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, and a BA in graphic design from Camberwell College of Art, the London Institute. During the webinar, Sarit will discuss B’Tselems recent position paper.
Suha Jarrar (Al-Haq) is a Senior Research and Advocacy Officer with Al-Haq human rights organization – Legal research and advocacy department. Her research and advocacy are in the areas of gender, environment and climate justice within the context of occupation, as well as other widespread human rights violations committed against Palestinians. She holds a Masters of Science degree in Climate Change Science and Policy from the University of Sussex in the UK, and a double Bachelor of Arts degree in Gender and Environmental Studies from Trent University in Canada. During the webinar, Suha will focus on Al-Haq’s work in Area C.
Nils Mollema (formerly Al-Haq) graduated from Leiden University with a master’s in Crisis and security management. After university he worked for Amnesty International Netherlands as country coordinator Israel, OPT and Iran. Nils then joined Al Haq as EU advocacy officer, where he stayed until January 2020. Currently Nils works at ActionAid in Amsterdam. During the webinar, Nils will elaborate on Al-Haq’s report on shrinking space.
