PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE – Issue. 353

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

 4 – 10 October 2026

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

Prepared by: Nour Kharouf

Translation:Aseel Ghabayen and Mays Abu Atwan

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)

Legal Updates by Official Palestinian Bodies:

• The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reported that Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has damaged the equivalent of 82% of all buildings in the territory. In the West Bank, Israeli authorities demolished 740 Palestinian-owned structures during the first half of 2026, while more than 4,000 Palestinians were displaced during the same period. (October 5, 2026)
• The Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority warned of the serious risks facing the Palestinian economy as correspondent banking relationships continue to depend on temporary political decisions. He stressed that the commitment by the Governor of the Bank of Israel to extend these arrangements until 31 December 2026 does not provide a sustainable or permanent solution. (October 6, 2026)
• The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission revealed that Israeli authorities issued an urgent military order to seize 741 square metres of land in the Al-Jabriyatneighbourhood of Jenin, located within Area A, citing immediate military purposes. The Commission cautioned that the significance of the measure extends beyond the area targeted, highlighting a broader pattern of interconnected military orders that gradually expand control over land and movement within Palestinian urban areas. (October 6, 2026)
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) condemned the war crimes committed by the occupation and settlers against unarmed Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest season. It also condemned the Israeli decisions and measures targeting the British Consulate General in Jerusalem and its staff. (October 7–8, 2026)
• The Palestinian Presidency, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and urged the international community to take concrete measures to ensure protection for Palestinians amid escalating violence and attacks by Israeli settlers and military forces.(October 10, 2026)
• The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, in a newly released report, warned of an accelerating pattern of Israeli settlement expansion characterised by the establishment of facts on the ground through physical and population growth before planning procedures are completed. According to the report, this process is facilitated by political backing and institutional support, with planning mechanisms later used to formalise and further expand these developments. (October 10, 2026)

Legal Updates by Official Israeli Bodies:

• Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stated that he is proud of having turned prisons into a “nightmare” for Palestinian prisoners, adding that the detainees are suffering and that the era of prisons operating as “hotels” is over.(October 9, 2026)

United Nations Statements and Publications:

• UN Women estimated that approximately 50,000 women and girls in Gaza had been killed or severely injured since the war began in October 2023, meaning that one in every 21 women and girls in Gaza had lost her life or was living with permanent disabilities. It noted that around one million women and girls had been forcibly displaced as a result of more than 150 Israeli evacuation orders. (October 8, 2026)
• International Organization for Migration Director General Amy Pope warned that available shelter supplies in the Gaza Strip covered only 17% of winter needs, as most of the population continued to require shelter a year after the ceasefire was announced. She reported that 8,600 emergency shelter kits were ready for delivery outside the Strip, but Israeli authorities continued to refuse to allow them in through the crossings. (October 9, 2026)

Legal Updates by Regional and International Bodies:

• The UK Green Party adopted an official policy defining itself as an anti-Zionist party. The resolution defined Zionism as an ethno-nationalist political project and affirmed that anti-Zionism should not be equated with antisemitism. It reiterated the party’s commitment to the liberation of Palestine and the right of return, and affirmed its support for the right to self-determination and the establishment of a single democratic state across the entirety of historic Palestine. (October 4, 2026)
• The British government threatened to expel an Israeli diplomat from London for every British diplomat Israel forced to leave East Jerusalem, following Israel’s decision to close the British Consulate there in response to the UK’s ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. (October 5, 2026)
• Six members of the US Congress condemned the Israeli government’s systematic persecution of Palestinian healthcare workers and called for their immediate release from arbitrary detention. They affirmed that Israel’s systematic destruction of medical facilities and targeting of healthcare workers constitute a deliberate policy aimed at entrenching occupation, apartheid, and genocide against the Palestinian people. (October 6, 2026)
• The League of Arab States condemned the Israeli occupation authorities’ demolition of a Palestinian residential building, comprising ten apartments, in the town of Al-Tur, in occupied East Jerusalem, which resulted in the displacement of its Palestinian residents. The act was carried out with the participation of the Israeli Minister of National Security. The League affirmed that this constitutes a violation of the rights of the Palestinian residents and their property. (October 6, 2026)
• British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced that the building housing the British Consulate General in Jerusalem would not close but would instead be known as the “British Mission, Jerusalem”, following discussions with the Israeli government. He stressed that the UK does not recognise any legal right on Israel’s part to close the consulate, reiterating his country’s position that East Jerusalem is occupied territory. (October 8, 2026)

Publications of Human Rights NGOs:

• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that Israel is progressively asphyxiating Gaza, Palestine, and continuing its genocide: the space in which people can live is vanishing, while the conditions people need to survive are being systematically destroyed through continued violence, the deliberate blockade of essential supplies, and the destruction of healthcare and vital infrastructure. (October 5, 2026)
• The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) cautioned that Israeli restrictions and funding shortfalls could leave approximately 1.65 million Palestinians in Gaza facing a fourth consecutive winter in damaged shelters, tents, and conflict-affected buildings. NRC noted that only 15 trucks carrying items designated as ‘dual-use’ are allowed to enter Gaza from Jordan each week, meaning the delivery of required winterisation and shelter supplies could take more than seven months at the current pace. (October5, 2026)
• The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the escalating targeting of journalists by Israeli occupation forces and settler militias. (October 6, 2026)
• The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemnedin the strongest terms the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) demolition of a residential building in al-Tur Mount in occupied East Jerusalem, forcibly displacing around 80 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The demolition constitutes a further act in the ongoing policy of forced displacement and home demolitions targeting the Palestinian presence in the city and across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). (October 6, 2026)
• The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a report titled “A Year Since the Ceasefire: Genocide Continues in the Gaza Strip”, in which it highlights ongoing acts of genocide. (October 7, 2026)
• Gisha, together with 20 humanitarian and human rights organisations, issued a joint statement calling for effective international action to protect civilians in Gaza. The organisations urged an end to attacks on civilians, the opening of crossings, and the removal of restrictions on reconstruction efforts, while highlighting continued displacement, extensive damage to infrastructure, and obstacles facing humanitarian operations and access to medical treatment. (October 8, 2026)
• DAWN and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) calledon the United States to end its support to Israel that enables settler violence in the occupied West Bank if it is sincere about wanting to stop rising violent attacks on Palestinians and protect the U.S. citizens who are increasingly among the victims . (October 8, 2026)
• The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) fileda communication under Article 15 of the Rome Statute with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling for an investigation into the involvement of Israeli Ministry of Health and Ministry of Defense officials, the Israeli Medical Association, medical professionals, and hospital administrators in the death, torture, and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees held at the SdeTeiman detention facility since 7 October 2023. (October 8, 2026)
• The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the assault on Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer JaafarIshtayeh by armed Israeli settlers near the village of Aqraba, south of Nablus, while he was covering assaults perpetrated by them against Palestinian olive farmers during the olive harvest season. (October 9, 2026)
• More than 100 humanitarian and human rights organisationswarned that the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip exists in name only. They asserted that, over the course of a year, Israeli attacks have resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Palestinians, including at least 324 children, while ongoing restrictions on the entry of aid, rescue equipment, and reconstruction materials continue to hinder the recovery of the population. (October 9, 2026)
• The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called on journalists’ unions and associations worldwide to encourage their respective governments to allow Gazan journalists to receive medical treatment abroad. The IFJ also demanded that the Israeli government facilitate these humanitarian evacuations and grant foreign reporters independent access to Gaza. (October 9, 2026)
• The Associated Press revealed that the US-based organisation Gaza Children’s Village plans to use artificial intelligence to analyse recordings of classroom conversations and detect what it describes as “antisemitic”, inciting, or hateful speech. The aim is to train teachers to adhere to curricula that the organisation says promote peace and tolerance and seek to combat extremism. (October 9, 2026)
• The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate condemned the obstruction of media crews by settler gangs as they covered an olive-harvesting event in the village of DeirIbzi’, west of Ramallah. It also condemned Israeli occupation forces for firing rubber bullets at photojournalist Issam al-Rimawi, a photographer for Al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper, injuring him in the foot. (October 9-10, 2026)

Opinion Pieces and Features:

• Al Jazeera published an opinion piece by JavidAbdelmoneim,titled: “WMA members must call for release of detained Palestinian medics”. (October 5, 2026)
• Al Jazeera published an opinion piece by Said Arikat,titled:“The Republican consensus on Israel is starting to fracture”. (October 5, 2026)
• Mondoweisspublished an opinion piece by Michael Arria,titled:“The Gaza genocide permanently diminished the power of pro-Israel propaganda”. (October 6, 2026)
• Arab News published an opinion piece by Osama Al-Sharif,titled: “The Widening Weaponization of Geography”. (October 6, 2026)
• Al Jazeera published an opinion piece by YaraHawari,titled:“Yes, Zionism Is Racism”. (October 7, 2026)
• Declassified UK published an article by John McEvoy,titled:“Britain helped to kill ‘Zionism is Racism’ resolution at the UN”. (October 7, 2026)
• Haaretzpublished an article by Hagar Shezaf and Nir Hasson,titled:“Thousands Are Held in Israeli Torture Camps. This Is What Happens Inside: Five Testimonies from Palestinians Held There”. (October 8, 2026)
• CounterPunchpublished an article by Jamal Kanj, titled: “Three Years of Genocide: How America’s Israel-First Media Filtered Out the Truth”. (October 8, 2026)
• Mondoweisspublished an op-ed by Jared Hillel, titled: “A brief history of Israeli ceasefire violations, from 1948 until today”. (October 9, 2026)
• Mondoweisspublished an op-ed by Mitchell Plitnick, titled: “Three years of genocide, three years of global silence”. (October 9, 2026)
• Opinio Juris published an article by Mohsen al Attar, titled: “Zionism is Racism: The Unexpected Return of UNGA Resolution 3379”. (October 9, 2026)

Upcoming Human Rights Opportunities and Events:

• The University of Barcelona, in partnership with the Fundacions Ferrer, launched the first Chair in Palestinian Studies in Spain and the first formally established academic chair on Palestine in Europe. The initiative seeks to promote scholarly research and foster greater understanding of Palestinian history, politics, society, and culture through academic cooperation and engagement with Palestinian institutions. (October 9, 2026)