PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE – Issue. 292

Your weekly survey of the most important publications and activities related to Palestine and law, from local and international sources

3-9 August 2025

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

Prepared by: Nour Kharouf, Murad Abu Murad, Ahmad Al-Rjoub, and Arwa Abdel moniam

Translation: Ferdous Abdul Hamid and Asma Louzon

Editing: Widad Hussein

This weekly report reviews the legal dynamics of the Palestine question, and everything related to international law and Palestine. The report includes an account of the most important publications, activities and conferences related to Palestine at the local, regional, international levels. The report further covers decisions, decrees, and judicial orders affecting the Palestinian cause, whether made at the official, academic or public levels. The report aims to be a reference for monitoring, documenting and archiving the latest human rights developments related to Palestine, and to present them to individuals, researchers, study centers, and official, academic and legal institutions concerned.

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Judicial decrees, decisions, positions, and orders issued by official Palestinian bodies

• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of the grave danger posed by the Israeli occupation’s exploitation of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and by colonial terror groups using live ammunition during attacks on Palestinian civilians under the protection and supervision of the Israeli army. (August 3, 2025)
• The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine warned of the grave consequences of a series of serious and unprecedented violations in the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, committed by settlers during what they call the alleged “Destruction of the Temple,” led by extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir under the protection of the occupation forces and police. The Committee called for urgent Arab, Islamic, and international intervention to stop these actions. Meanwhile, the Palestinian National Council considered these incursions a serious violation of the existing legal and historical status quo and part of a policy to Judaize Jerusalem. (August 3, 2025)
• The Palestinian National Council condemned the visit of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, to one of the illegal settlements (Ariel) in the occupied West Bank, accompanied by several members of Congress, as well as his storming of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron alongside settlers. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the visit, stating that it encourages the seizure of Palestinian lands. (August 4, 2025)
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned an attack by terrorist settlers on a Russian diplomatic vehicle carrying members of the Russian mission, as well as on a Dutch diplomatic vehicle transporting the Dutch ambassador and the political attaché. The ministry said the incident reflects the arrogance and lawlessness of organized, armed settler militias, emboldened by the protection they receive from the occupying state’s political leadership. It added that the attack underscores the daily dangers faced by Palestinians on the roads and in their towns. (August 6, 2025)
• The Palestinian Presidency expressed its strong rejection and condemnation of the Israeli cabinet’s “dangerous” decisions to fully reoccupy the Gaza Strip and forcibly displace nearly one million Palestinians from Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip to the south, describing them as a full-fledged crime that constitutes a continuation of the policy of genocide. (August 8, 2025)

Judicial decrees, decisions, positions, and orders issued by official Israeli bodies

• Israeli Defense Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that Hamas’s “horrifying” videos aim to pressure the State of Israel, stressing that the appropriate response should be to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, declare sovereignty over it, expel every Hamas member, and encourage voluntary emigration. (August 3, 2025)
• Channel 12 reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump are engaged in advanced negotiations on a new comprehensive hostage and ceasefire proposal. The plan includes an ultimatum to Hamas to release hostages and disarm, with the U.S. set to lead an international administration in the Gaza Strip if the conditions are met. If Hamas refuses, Trump would reportedly give the IDF a “green light” to operate freely inside the Strip. (August 3, 2025)
• Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that countries which announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state in recent weeks sabotaged a potential ceasefire deal with the Hamas “terror” group. He added that certain countries, including some represented “in this building,” acted to pressure Israel instead of Hamas during sensitive negotiations, by attacking Israel, campaigning against it, and announcing recognition of what he called a “virtual” Palestinian state. He argued that these actions gave Hamas “free gifts and incentives” to continue the war and “directly assassinated” the hostage deal and ceasefire. (August 6, 2025)
• Drop Site, citing Israel’s Channel 13, reported that leaked Israeli government records revealed Israel’s war cabinet knowingly restricted all humanitarian aid to Gaza in the hope of breaking Hamas, a strategy that inflicted mass suffering but failed to achieve its objectives. The records also indicate that Israel encountered neither resistance nor bad faith in negotiations with Hamas, yet broke the ceasefire and escalated hostilities despite recommendations from security and intelligence agencies to move to “Phase B” of the ceasefire agreement. (August 6–7, 2025)
• The office of the Israeli Prime Minister announced that the security cabinet has approved his proposal for “defeating Hamas,” and that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are preparing to take control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to civilians outside combat zones. The security cabinet also adopted, by majority vote, the “five principles” to end the war: disarming Hamas, the return of all hostages, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control over the Strip, and the establishment of an alternative civilian administration unaffiliated with either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. (August 8, 2025)

Judicial decrees, decisions, positions, and orders issued by Arab, European, and international bodies

• The European Commissioner for Equality, Hadja Lahbib, called for the immediate release of all Israeli hostages, while also urging Israel to end its policy of starvation in Gaza and allow the effective, large-scale delivery of humanitarian aid. (August 3, 2025)
• The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory expressed deep shock and outrage at the continued killing of emergency workers in Gaza, noting that on August 3 the Israeli army targeted a facility belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, killing one staff member and injuring at least three others. The Office stressed the need for an independent investigation into all cases of civilian killings, warning that the deliberate killing of humanitarian workers could amount to war crimes. (August 3, 2025)
• Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Arab Parliament condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by extremist Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and extremist settler groups under the protection of Israeli occupation forces, describing it as part of attempts to alter the historical and legal status quo at the holy site. Saudi Arabia also condemned what it described as repeated provocative practices by Israeli government officials against the Al-Aqsa Mosque and called on the international community to halt these actions. (August 3, 2025)
• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the visit of the U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, leading a congressional delegation, to the “Ariel” settlement in the West Bank, calling it a blatant violation of UN resolutions and UN Security Council Resolution 2334. (August 3–4, 2025)
• UNICEF warned that children in Gaza are facing death from bombing, malnutrition, and hunger, as well as from the lack of essential aid and vital services, noting that an average of 28 children, a number equivalent to a school class, are killed every day. It stressed that children in Gaza need food, water, medicine, protection, and, above all, an immediate ceasefire. UNICEF’s Executive Director said depriving children, families, and hostages in Gaza of food and aid is unconscionable, and called for an immediate end to their suffering. (August 4–5, 2025)
• Nahla Haidar El Addal, Chair of the UN CEDAW Committee, condemned the deliberate starvation of over one million women and girls in Gaza as a “war crime” and a blatant violation of the legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice, stressing that what the women of Gaza are enduring is discrimination in its most brutal form. She called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and for the blockade on Gaza to be lifted. (August 4, 2025)
• France condemned the visit by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound “Haram al-Sharif”, describing it as a violation of the historic Status Quo agreement on Jerusalem’s holy sites. France reiterated the urgent need to preserve the historic Status Quo. (August 4, 2025)
• Reuters reported that the Trump administration has reversed its decision to require U.S. states and cities to reject boycotts of Israeli companies in order to receive disaster funds. (August 4, 2025)
• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that images of people starving in Gaza are heart-rending and intolerable, stressing that reaching such a stage is an affront to our collective humanity. He noted that Israel continues to severely restrict the entry of humanitarian assistance, with permitted quantities far from sufficient, and warned that denying civilians access to food may amount to a war crime, as well as potentially a crime against humanity. (August 4, 2025)
• Irish President Michael D. Higgins called on the United Nations to take urgent action in Gaza, urging Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to invoke powers under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter to bypass Security Council gridlock and deliver humanitarian aid, describing the crisis as “the incredible, incredible destruction of an entire people.” (August 4, 2025)
• Michael Fakhri, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, said that “Israel is starving Gaza. It’s genocide. It’s a crime against humanity. It’s a war crime,” adding that “no one should act surprised” as all the information has been public since early 2024. He stated that Israel has built “the most efficient starvation machine you can imagine” under a complete siege declared by then, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in October 2023, which, according to UN figures, left Gazans accounting for 80% of the people in the world experiencing catastrophic hunger by December 2023. (August 4, 2025)
• Australia announced an additional $20 million to support rapid response efforts to deliver food, medical supplies for field hospitals, and other life-saving assistance to women and children in Gaza. (August 4, 2025)
• UK Minister of State for Development Jenny Chapman said that famine is unfolding in Gaza and that humanitarian partners are being blocked from responding. She warned that Israel’s visa and registration requirements for organizations, including UK charities, risk undermining the humanitarian response and politicizing aid delivery, and urged Israel to halt these measures immediately. (August 5, 2025)
• UN experts called for the immediate dismantling of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), holding it and its executives accountable, and allowing experienced humanitarian actors from UN agencies, especially UNRWA, to resume managing and distributing lifesaving aid. They also called for the imposition of a full arms embargo on Israel and the suspension of agreements that harm Palestinians. The experts emphasized that preventing or delaying aid constitutes a war crime aimed at starving civilians in the context of documented genocide. (August 5, 2025)
• Axios reported that more than a dozen House Democrats have signed a letter urging the Trump administration to recognize a Palestinian state, with at least one planning to introduce a pro-statehood resolution. (August 5, 2025)
• Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares reaffirmed his country’s rejection of any illegal annexation of Gaza or the West Bank, describing such actions as violations of international law that undermine the possibility of achieving a two-state solution. He stressed that Spain will continue working to implement the two-state solution as the only path to peace in the region. (August 5, 2025)
• The British Consulate General in Jerusalem called for the immediate and unconditional release of the body of human rights activist Odeh Hathaleen, stressed the need for accountability for settler violence, and urged an end to the policy of impunity. (August 5, 2025)
• Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong warned that there may be “no Palestinian state left to recognise” if the international community fails to achieve a two-state solution by ending the war in Gaza. She added, “There will be no peace and security for the people of Israel unless we resolve to a Palestinian state.” (August 5, 2025)#
• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the ongoing war in Gaza is no longer merely a conflict to achieve political goals or release hostages, but has surpassed all logic and justification, becoming a war of starvation and genocide aimed at eradicating the Palestinian cause. (August 5, 2025)
• Norway announced a review of its sovereign wealth fund portfolio in Israel following growing concerns about Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd, a company providing military services to Israel in which the fund holds a stake of more than 2.09%, valued at $15.2 million. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed that the issue is “worrying” and requires clarification. (August 5, 2025)
• The World Health Organization in the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned that complex entry requirements and arbitrary denials of entry to international emergency medical teams (EMTs) are severely impacting the availability of health services and leading to more deaths in Gaza. It reported that since March 18, 2025, denial rates have risen by nearly 50%, with 102 essential international medical personnel, including surgeons and other specialized staff, barred from entry. (August 6, 2025)
• The Government of the Republic of Slovenia proposed a ban on the import of goods originating from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including measures to prevent circumvention of the ban, as part of guidelines it adopted for economic measures related to the situation in the oPt. The Government tasked the Ministries of Economy and Foreign Affairs with preparing proposals for these measures, including a study on banning exports of goods to settlements. (August 6, 2025)
• Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani reiterated Italy’s rejection of any Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, which he said would undermine the foundations of the “Two Peoples, Two States” project. He stressed that this project remains the only solution for achieving sustainable peace in the Middle East. (August 6, 2025)
• S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced a plan to expand the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s operations from 4 to 16 aid distribution sites, operating 24 hours a day to deliver food directly to the population in Gaza and prevent it from reaching Hamas. (August 6, 2025)
• United Nations agencies and NGOs called on Israeli authorities to rescind the requirement introduced on March 9 obliging international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to share sensitive personal information about their Palestinian employees. They warned that many international NGO partners could be de-registered by September 9 or sooner, which would lead to termination of their humanitarian operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. (August 6, 2025)
• A team of United Nations experts decried Israel’s escalation of its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza, calling on the international community to end its complicity in the face of Israeli atrocities. They noted that over a thousand Palestinians have been slaughtered by Israeli forces while lining up for humanitarian assistance. The experts warned that Israeli proposals to forcibly transfer Gaza’s population to a so-called ‘humanitarian city’ on the border with Egypt can only be seen as an attempt to create a concentration camp with conditions so dire that Gazans will ultimately be forced from their homeland. (August 7, 2025)
• United Nations experts stated that Israel must immediately restore the UN humanitarian system in Gaza to prevent famine threatening more than 500,000 people, including 320,000 children under five. They emphasized that starvation has been used as a savage weapon of war. The experts criticized Israeli laws prohibiting cooperation with UNRWA and warned against arbitrary restrictions on the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as well as obstruction of human rights mechanisms and international media access to Gaza. (August 7, 2025)
• European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera said the starvation, displacement, and killing in Gaza strongly resemble genocide. She stressed that a concrete population is being targeted, killed, and condemned to starve to death, matching the definition of genocide. Ribera called on the European Union to consider suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement and proposed that countries opposing such measures register their objection by abstaining from voting, allowing a majority decision to pass swiftly. (August 7, 2025)
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong and urged an immediate reconsideration. He called for a negotiated solution, stressing that Hamas must disarm and leave, as it can play no part in Gaza’s future. Starmer explained that the UK is working with its allies on a long-term plan to secure peace as part of a two-state solution. However, the absence of good-faith negotiations from both sides threatens to derail this path. (August 8, 2025)
• The German government announced that it will halt the export of any military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip to Israel, following the Israeli security cabinet’s approval to expand military operations. It also urged the Israeli government to refrain from taking any further steps toward annexing the West Bank. (August 8, 2025)
• The German government announced it will halt the export of any military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip to Israel, following the Israeli security cabinet’s approval to expand military operations. It also urged the Israeli government to refrain from further steps toward annexing the West Bank. (August 8, 2025)
• Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said he decided to summon the Israeli ambassador following the Israeli government’s official confirmation of its intention to surround and occupy Gaza City and take military control of the entire Gaza Strip. He explained that this action aims to express Belgium’s total disapproval of this decision, ongoing settlement expansion, and the desire to annex the West Bank. (August 8, 2025)
• Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard warned that Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza raises serious concerns and could constitute a violation of international law, emphasizing that any attempt to annex, change, or reduce the territory of Gaza would be unlawful. (August 8, 2025)
• The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s decision to widen its military operations in Gaza, describing it as a new phase of expansionist and genocidal policy and a severe blow to international peace and security. It called on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities to prevent the implementation of this plan. (August 8, 2025)

Publications of human rights NGOs

• The Palestinian Red Crescent Society condemned the deliberate targeting of its headquarters in Khan Younis by Israeli occupation forces, which resulted in the killing of one staff member and injuries to two others, as well as a civilian attempting to extinguish the fire. The Society explained that shelling targeted the upper floors after midnight and was repeated during evacuation and firefighting operations, indicating a systematic attack. It stressed that the building bore the internationally recognized Red Crescent emblem. (August 3, 2025)
• The Palestinian Center for Human Rights condemned the killing of a Palestinian citizen by armed settlers in the Mahforiyia Plain area southwest of Aqraba village in Nablus, noting that this is the fifth such crime within a week and the sixth since the beginning of July. The Center stated that it is part of a systematic and ongoing wave of settler violence carried out under the protection of Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and with the support of the Israeli government and judiciary, aimed at depopulating indigenous residents. (August 3, 2025)
• Al-Haq issued the second legal brief on “Protected Groups” as part of its genocide series, addressing the definition of protected groups under the Genocide Convention and the ongoing legal debate surrounding this definition. (August 4, 2025)
• A report by the newspaper Aftenposten revealed that the Norwegian Oil Fund increased its investment in an Israeli company, Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd., which maintains engines for Israeli fighter jets used in bombing the Gaza Strip. This comes amid a rising death toll exceeding 60,000 victims due to intense Israeli airstrikes, which several experts have deemed violations of international law. (August 4, 2025)
• The Palestinian Center for Prisoner Advocacy condemned the Israeli Knesset’s approval of an extension to a law allowing the detention of Palestinian citizens from the Gaza Strip under the designation of “illegal combatant” without filing charges, setting detention limits, or allowing legal counsel access. (August 5, 2025)
• Amnesty International’s Ireland Director, Stephen Bowen, warned that unless immediate, concrete action is taken, Gaza will become a graveyard not only for international law but also for shared humanity, stressing that future generations will look back with horror at the scale of the international community’s failures. (August 5, 2025)
• Human Rights Watch said that Israeli forces’ deadly attacks on schools sheltering Palestinian civilians in Gaza, noting the absence of safe places for displaced people. Since October 2023, hundreds of attacks have struck over 500 school buildings, many used as shelters, killing hundreds and causing significant damage to nearly all of Gaza’s schools. Investigations found no evidence of military targets in these incidents. (August 5, 2025)
• Justice Peace Advocates published an analysis revealing investments exceeding one billion dollars in two major companies within Canada’s public sector pension plans, which have invested in firms involved in supporting war crimes and genocide committed in Palestine. (August 5, 2025)
• The Guardian, in collaboration with +972 Magazine and Local Call, published an investigation revealing that Israel’s Unit 8200, specializing in cyberwarfare, uses Microsoft’s cloud servers to store vast intelligence on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, including recordings of millions of phone calls used to plan deadly airstrikes, military operations, and arrests. (August 6, 2025)
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) released a report titled “This is not aid. This is orchestrated killing,” asserting that Israeli authorities sought to dismantle the UN-led humanitarian response and replace it with a militarized food distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Drawing on medical data, patient testimonies, and eyewitness accounts, the report claims this system amounts to institutionalized starvation and dehumanization. (August 7, 2025)
• The Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) announced it is preparing an official criminal complaint to the Australian Federal Police to investigate Australians serving in the Israeli army, monitoring “at least 20 individuals.” It called on the government to issue clear warnings about the legal risks of fighting in the Israeli army, which could expose individuals to investigation and prosecution under Australian law. (August 7, 2025)

Research and academic studies (in Arabic and English):

• The Student Research Symposium published a research paper by Mahmoud Barry titled: “How and why international law has been limited in Palestine.” (2025)
• The Journal of World Sociopolitical Studies published a research paper by Mohammad Saleh Taskhiri titled: “Palestine Referendum Proposal from the Perspective of International Law; Essentials, Weaknesses and Strengths.” (2025)
• American Journal of Student Research published a research paper by Zihan He titled “The Value of the Veto: Analysis of Resolution Content and Veto Reasoning on the Palestinian Question (2000–2025).” (2025)
• The Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies published a research paper by Andrea Maria Pelliconi titled “The Demographic Battle for Palestine in the Settler-Colonial Project and the Promise and Peril of International Law.” (2025)
• The Critical Review of Social Sciences Studies published a research paper by Imtiaz Ahmad Khan and others titled “Deciphering the Relevance of United Nations and International Law in Peace Efforts: A Case Study of the Palestine–Israel Conflict.” (2025)

Opinion Pieces and features

• The Guardian published an opinion piece by Jonathan Whittall titled: “I saw many atrocities as a senior aid official in Gaza. Now Israeli authorities are trying to silence us.” (August 3, 2025)
• Haaretz published an opinion piece by Gideon Levy titled: “Recognizing Palestine Won’t Stop the Genocide in Gaza – Sanctions on Israel Will.” (August 3, 2025)
• Haaretz published an opinion piece by Odeh Bisharat titled: “As Piers Morgan Said, If Palestinians Must Leave Gaza, Why Shouldn’t Israelis Leave Israel?”. (August 4, 2025)
• Arab News published an opinion piece by Dr. Ramzy Baroud titled: “Why the delay in judging Israeli war crimes?”. (August 4, 2025)
• Mondoweiss published an opinion piece by Sonia Boulos titled: “B’Tselem’s flawed report on Gaza names genocide but evades the law”. (August 5, 2025)
• Mondoweiss published an opinion article by Jennifer Ruth titled: “Impending federal overhaul means Trump will soon have a de facto political army to attack Palestine activism.” (August 7, 2025)

Legal Achievements/Impacts for Palestine

• A total of 182 members of the Royal Opera House and Ballet in London, including dancers, singers, musicians, and technical and administrative staff, announced their outright rejection of any current or future performances in Israel. They called to prevent their productions from being presented “to institutions that legitimize and economically support a state involved in the mass killing of civilians.” (August 4, 2025)
• A U.S. federal district court dismissed a civil lawsuit falsely alleging that a U.S. charity supported terrorism by providing financial contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). (August 4, 2025)