PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE – Issue. 313

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

 28 Dec. 2025 – 3 Jan. 2026

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

Prepared by: Nour Kharouf, Arwa Abdel Moniam, and Ahmad Al Rjoub

Translation: Ferdous Abdul Hamid, and Maisaa Abdelqader

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.

To view this Issue of Palestine’s Legal Scene, please click here (5 minutes read)

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

• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli occupation authorities’ arbitrary decision to revoke the work permits of 37 international and humanitarian relief organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Ministry also denounced the Israeli occupation forces’ widespread demolition and forced displacement operations in the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm, describing them as part of a systematic policy aimed at emptying refugee camps and erasing the Palestinian presence from their land. (December 31, 2025)
• The Hebron Municipality affirmed that the Israeli occupation authorities’ decision to approve the construction of “a roof (canopy) over the inner courtyard of the Ibrahimi mosque’s, and to strip the Municipality of its authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque, calling it a dangerous escalation and a violation of the legal and historical status quo.  The Palestinian Awqaf Ministry also condemned the measures and categorically rejected these violations. (January 1, 2026)

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

• The Israeli Knesset approved in second and third readings the Bill for Stopping the Activity of UNRWA (Amendment), 2025, which would prevent providers of electricity or water from supplying services to properties registered under UNRWA name. The bill alsoproposes granting the state authority to take possession of land used by UNRWA in certain compounds. The legislation passed with 59 Members of Knesset voting in favor and seven opposing. (December 29, 2025)
• The Israeli Diaspora Affairs Ministry announced that the licenses of 37 international non-governmental organizations operating in Gaza and the West Bank would expire on January 1, 2026, citing their alleged failure to abide with new, stringent registration requirements imposed in March 2025. The Ministry claimed that the decision would not affect the delivery of humanitarian aid. (December 30, 2025)

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

• The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its strong condemnation of the Israeli Knesset’s approval of a bill targeting the operations of UNRWA and undermining its ability to provide vital humanitarian services. The Ministry described the bill as part of a systematic Israeli campaign against UNRWA aimed at depriving the Palestinian people of their rights, particularly the right of return and compensation for refugees. The bill was also condemned by the Speaker of the Arab Parliament and the League of Arab States. (December 29–31, 2025)
• The Arab Parliament condemned the dangerous and systematic escalation of raids by extremist Israeli settlers into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque under the direct protection of Israeli occupation forces, affirming that these raids and their accompanying actions constitute organized terrorism and a flagrant violation of the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque. (December 29, 2025)
• The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom expressed serious concern over the renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where approximately 1.6 million people are facing acute food insecurity. They called on the Israeli government to take urgent measures, including ensuring the continued operation of international NGOs and UN agencies such as UNRWA, lifting restrictions on medical and shelter supplies, and facilitating humanitarian access and aid flows into Gaza. (December 30, 2025)
• The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, stated that the Israeli Knesset’s vote on new legislation targeting the agency is outrageous, stating that it constitutes a direct affront of UNRWA’s mandate as granted by the United Nations General Assembly, and is contrary to findings of the International Court of Justice. Lazzarini explained that the legislation would cut off water, electricity, fuel, and communications to UNRWA, grant the Israeli government authority to expropriate United Nations property in East Jerusalem—including UNRWA’s headquarters and vocational training center and exclude the agency from the UN Convention on the Privileges and Immunities, in clear violation of Israel’s international obligations. (December 30, 2025)
• The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the decision by the Israeli occupation authorities to ban 37 international non-governmental organizations working in humanitarian and health relief from carrying out their activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip. (December 31, 2025)
• The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) urged the Israeli authorities to reconsider their plan to ban a number of international non-governmental organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory, stressing that humanitarian access is neither optional, conditional, nor political, but a legal obligation under international humanitarian law and fundamental to the protection of human rights. (December 31, 2025)
• Belgium’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, Maxime Prévot, affirmed that humanitarian access is not optional, noting that Israel’s cancellation of the registration of a number of international organizations constitutes a violation of its obligations under international humanitarian law.The minister called on Israel to cooperate in good faith with all humanitarian actors and to remove all restrictions on humanitarian access. (December 31, 2025)
• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated that the decisions taken by the Israeli Knesset regarding UNRWA are aimed at obstructing the agency’s operations, contradict its status and the framework of international law, and must be immediately repealed. The UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini also condemned the move, describing it as part of an ongoing and systematic campaign to undermine UNRWA’s reputation and hinder its role. (December 30, 2025 – January 1, 2026)
• The foreign ministers of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt expressed deep concern over the severe deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,which worsened by harsh and unstable weather conditions amid continued lack of sufficient humanitarian access. They called on the international community to pressure Israel to immediately lift restrictions on the entry and distribution of essential supplies, rehabilitate infrastructure and hospitals, and open the Rafah crossing in both directions. (January 2, 2026)
• The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned Israel’s decision to revoke the planning and construction authorities of the Hebron Municipality over the Ibrahimi Mosque and to unilaterally approve a project to roof the mosque’s courtyard, considering it a blatant violation of international law and the existing historical and legal status quo. (January 2, 2026)
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on the Israeli authorities to drop plans to  introduce new legislation that would impose mandatory death penalties exclusively on Palestinians under certain circumstances, whether in the Occupied Palestinian Territory or inside Israel. He noted that such proposals contravene international law on multiple levels.(January 2,2026)

Publications of human rights NGOs:

• Al-Haq published an extensive analysis of the case brought by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice concerning the crime of genocide, including the Court’s Orders in the case. (December 29, 2025)
• The 7amleh campaign published a report titled “The Impact of the Gaza Blockade and the Destruction of Telecommunications Infrastructure on the Digital Economy Amidst Genocide”by Dr. Mohammed Alshurafa, examining the collapse of Gaza’s digital economy, and its impacts on thousands of young people who work remotely depriving them of income and access to education. (December 29, 2025)
• The organization Peace Now warned that the Higher Planning Council of the Israeli Civil Administration plans to discuss proposals to build 1,033 settlement units across the occupied West Bank, including advancing the construction of 126 units (Plan No. 108/2) in the evacuated settlement of Sanur, whose re-establishment was approved by the Israeli security cabinet in May 2025 in May 2025.(December 29,2025)
• The human rights organization B’Tselem stated that Israel violated the first stage of the ceasefire agreement, which required withdrawal to the “Yellow Line,” leaving 58% of the Gaza Strip under its control. The organisation explained that about a week after the agreement took effect, Israel began marking the line on the ground with yellow-painted concrete blocks. Since the ceasefire was declared,B’Tselem reported that Israel has killed 414 Palestinians and injured 1,145 others in the Gaza Strip, many near the Yellow Line, stressing that the genocide in Gaza is not over. (December 30, 2025)
• The Guardian published an investigation into the symbiotic relationship between the Israeli military and major US technology companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, which provide cloud storage and data analysis of vast amounts of Palestinian data, including intercepted phone calls, images, and videos, to support Israeli military operations in Gaza and the West Bank. (December 30, 2025)
• Al-Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemned Israel’s decision to bar 37 international humanitarian organizations from operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, describing the move as an extension of genocidal practice. They affirmed that the new registration requirements are designed to entrench the deprivation of Palestinians of humanitarian assistance and to further reinforce a system of apartheid and colonial domination.(December 30,2025)
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) stated that Israel’s threat to withhold its registration along with that of dozens of other international non-governmental organisations constitutes a grave blow to humanitarian aid in Gaza and the West Bank. The organisation expressed serious concern over the registration requirements imposed by Israel, including the sharing of personal information of Palestinian staff with Israeli authorities—particularly after 15 MSF colleagues were killed— describing the measures as a dangerous undermining of humanitarian independence and neutrality. (January 1, 2026)
• Eighteen Israel-based human rights organizationscondemned Israel’s decision to revoke the registration of international humanitarian organizations operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, arguing that the measures undermine access to life-saving aid. The groups noted that the decision comes amid continued restrictions on humanitarian access since October 2023 and the escalating military, institutional, and settler violence in the West Bank. (January 1, 2026)
• The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) filed a criminal complaint in the Czech Republic against Israeli soldier Haggi Monsonego, accusing him of genocide, war crimes, and the persecution of civilians during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The complaint was submitted to the High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague following confirmation of his presence in the country, thereby activating the Czech Republic’s legal and international obligations. (January 2, 2026)
• Fifty-three international non-governmental organizations warned that recent Israeli measures regardingthe registration of organizations threaten to halt their operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, at a time when civilians are facing acute humanitarian needs. They noted that the deregistration of 37 organizations could force the suspension of activities within 60 days, leading to the closure of field hospitals, interruption of food distribution, collapse of shelter networks, and the disruption of life-saving care for children with severe acute malnutrition. The organizations called on the Israeli government to immediately halt these measures. (January 2, 2026)

Opinion Pieces and features:

• Mondoweiss published an op-ed article by Alana Lentin titled: “Understanding the Relationship Between Zionism and Fascism”. (December 28, 2025)
• The New Yorker published an op-ed article by Mohammad R. Mhawish titled: “A Reckoning for the Stalled Gaza Peace Plan”. (December 29, 2025)
• The Middle East Council on Global Affairs published an opinion piece by Mohammed Al-Dahshan titled: “Reconstructing Gaza According to Trump’s Plan Would Be a Disaster”. (December 29, 2025)
• Mondoweiss published an opinion piece by Mitchell Plitnick titled: “2025 saw the most significant political shift toward Palestinian rights in U.S. history”. (December 31, 2025)
• Truthout published an opinion piece by Michelle Moschabek entitled: “UN Security Council Abandoned Palestinians. Humanity Must Refuse to Follow Suit”. (January 1, 2026)