Research

As the war on Gaza reached its six-month mark, it continues to be a war on women. According to UN Women estimates, more than 10,000 women have been killed to date, among them an estimated 6,000 mothers who left 19,000 orphan children behind. Women who have survived have been displaced, widowed, and are facing starvation.

7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media presents this instigative study, The Palestinian Public’s Perception of Palestinian CSOs. To map this perception, the study wielded a set of indicators—including the Palestinian public’s expectations of and satisfaction with Palestinian civil society organizations (CSOs). The indicators were measured with three tools: polls, focus groups, and individual interviews. In addition to analyzing collected data and information, the study reviews the corpus of literature on Palestinian CSOs.

This study serves as a summary for the methodology, research findings, and primary recommendations which have emerged from the PRIPODE project. Rather than a reproduction of the final report, it is a distillation of the main aspects of the research findings. The first part (a profile of the targeted area) briefly introduces to the reader the socio-economic and demographic context which has informed the course of the study. In the second part, an analysis on the environmental and social challenges facing the Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour Municipalities is offered.

The informal sector: the current situation and prospects for structuring the sector - English.

A legal commentary on Israel’s recently-amended Civil Wrongs (Liability of the State) Law 5712-1952 (the Compensation Law), legislation which raises a number of concerns in regards to its compliance with international law. The amendments to this law, which narrow the eligibility of Palestinians to submit claims for compensation as a result of illegal actions carried out by the Israeli military (including acts of negligence), were overwhelmingly passed by the Israeli Knesset (parliament) in July 2005.

Between 1999 and 2008, external aid to the West Bank and Gaza Strip increased by over 600% to 3.25 billion US Dollars per year. During the same time period, external aid to Palestinian Nongovernmental Organizations (PNGOs) increased by over 500% from 48 million US Dollars in 1999 to 257 million in 2008. Throughout this period the level of external aid received by PNGOs fluctuated, however, it averaged around 10% over the 10 year period.

By relating the conditions which prevail at the Jnaid prison in Nablus, this Al-Haq case study creates a vivid account of daily life in the shoes of a prisoner. This report examines the severe deprivation of basic human needs from the prisoners, in relation to international law and standards as well as existing conditions at other West Bank prisons. It also includes a list of demands compiled by the prisoners as well as a copy of the letter of response from the director of the prison.

This Al-Haq report is an analysis of the legal situation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It includes detailed studies of the legislation and administration of land rights, water rights, trading and commerce, town planning, trade unions, education, literature and information. The report establishes that Israel has altered the existing laws and administration in such a way as to make the economy of the West Bank subordinate to the interests of Israel, and to facilitate the encroachment on the territory of Jewish settlements, which are universally condemned as a violation of international law.

This collection of affidavits compiled by Al-Haq address a range of violations to which Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are subjected, including demolition and sealing of houses; abuses by Israeli settlers; harassment of students; town arrests; and issues pertaining to villages leagues. The affidavits testify to grave violations by different groups: some Israeli and some Arab, some civilian and some military. While the media has reported such instances, this collection is the first time that vctims' own accounts are made available.