PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE – Issue. 306

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

9-15 Nov. 2025

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

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

Translation: Aseel Ghabayen and Mai Shaheen

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 decision by the Israeli occupation authorities to evict the Shweiki and Awda families from their property in the Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan in favor of the settler organization “Ateret Cohanim.” The ministry described the move as a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute, and as part of the Israeli ongoing policy of ethnic cleansing targeting the residents of Jerusalem. (November 10, 2025)
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates welcomed the UNESCO General Conference adoption of four resolutions related to Palestine. The resolutions address the situation in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and reaffirmed support for UNRWA’s ongoing activities as well as educational and cultural institutions in the occupied Arab territories. (November 10, 2025)
• The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that 6,000 registered amputation cases in Gaza are in urgent need of immediate and long-term rehabilitation programs. The ministry stated that children account for about 25% of all amputation cases, while women represent 12.7%. The Health Ministry called on international and humanitarian organizations to intensify their efforts to provide comprehensive physical rehabilitation, as well as psychological and social support, particularly for children. (November 11, 2025)/ here
• The Palestinian Ministry of National Economy called on the international community to take urgent action to halt terrorist attacks by Israeli settlers targeting Palestinian civilians and economic facilities under the protection of Israeli forces. The ministry noted that the latest attack targeted the warehouses of Al-Juneidi Company in the Deir Sharaf industrial area, where colonists set fire to four trucks and two private cars and vandalized company property. (November 11, 2025)
• The Jerusalem Governorate stated that what is happening in the village of Qalandiya constitutes organized forced displacement and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, as the occupying authorities move forward with a project to build a waste-processing and energy-recovery facility on Palestinian land located behind the separation wall. The project threatens dozens of Jerusalemite families by erasing their agricultural lands and homes. The governorate explained that the project includes rerouting the separation wall to annex 130 dunams of land. (November 12, 2025)
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the arson attack on the Hajja Hamida Mosque, located between the towns of Kafr Haris and Deir Istiya in the Salfit Governorate, by terrorist settler gangs. The Ministry considered the attack part of the ongoing systematic Israeli assaults against the Palestinian people. (November 13, 2025)/ here

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

• Members of the Israeli Knesset voted in the first reading in favor of a bill that would impose the death penalty on anyone convicted of killing an Israeli on nationalistic grounds. The bill allows military courts in the West Bank to issue the sentence by a simple majority, rather than a unanimous decision, and it removes the authority of military commanders to reduce such sentences. (November 11, 2025)
• The Israeli Supreme Court issued a final decision rejecting the appeal submitted by Palestinian Bedouin residents of the village of Ras Jaraba, paving the way for the evacuation of around 500 people. Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, which represented the residents, stated that the ruling provides “judicial cover for Israel’s policies of segregation and apartheid” in the Naqab (Negev). (November 13, 2025)

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

• French MP Thomas Portes stated that since the ceasefire, Israel has urdered more than 250 Palestinians, and that in October 2025 alone, the Israeli settlers carried out 264 attacks against Palestinians. He added that from January to November 2025, 44 Palestinian children were killed, stressing the need for mobilization to liberate all of Palestine. (November 9, 2025)
• The World Health Organization announced the reopening of Al-Khair Hospital in Khan Younis, after it had been forced out of service following attacks in February 2024. UN Humanitarian Coordinator Tom Fletcher reported that, one month after the ceasefire, food had been distributed to more than one million people, nutrition centers, and hospitals had been supported, and roads had been cleared, and vital immunisation services had resumed. (November 10, 2025)
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, stated that evidence of ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian hostages and detainees by Israeli officials has been emerging since February 2024. She noted that Israel remains shielded from accountability by what she described as paid guardians and defenders around the world, who justify every violation by referring to the events of October 7. (November 10, 2025)
• UNRWA affirmed that it remains a lifeline in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, despite ongoing displacement, destruction, escalating settler violence, and shrinking humanitarian access. The agency provides basic services to more than 930,000 Palestinian refugees. (November 10, 2025)
• Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s diplomatic advisor to the president, stated that the United Arab Emirates does not yet see a clear framework for the proposed international stability force in Gaza and, under the current circumstances, will not take part. He added that Abu Dhabi would continue to support political efforts toward peace and remain a leading provider of humanitarian aid. (November 10, 2025)
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, stated that “the future of Palestine belongs to the Palestinians, as stipulated by international law and affirmed by the International Court of Justice.” She emphasised the need for states to cut ties with Apartheid Israel, for companies to divest, for universities to disengage, and for citizens to stop purchasing its products and services. (November 10, 2025)
• Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said the Netherlands is still working on legislation to bar imports from illegal settlements in occupied Palestine, even though it has paused a push for broader sanctions on Israel following last month’s ceasefire deal in Gaza. He said the partial ban was a response to settlement expansion and spiralling Israeli violence against Palestinians that threatened the viability of the two-state solution. The Minister further emphasized that his country “deems it is not a time to increase sanctions”. (November 10, 2025)
• French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will assist the Palestinian Authority in drafting a constitution for a future Palestinian state through a joint committee tasked with addressing all legal, constitutional, and institutional aspects. Macron added that France will provide 100 million euros in humanitarian aid to Gaza for 2025. (November 11, 2025)
• The Arab Parliament condemned the Israeli Knesset’s approval, in its first reading, of a racist bill that would allow the execution of Palestinian prisoners, asserting that this legislation constitutes a new crime added to the occupation’s record of violatiions. (November 12, 2025)
• UNICEF stated that Israel is preventing the entry of essential supplies into Gaza, including about 1.6 million vaccination syringes for children and solar-powered refrigerators needed to store vaccine vials, hindering a wide vaccination campaign for children amid the fragile ceasefire. Israel has also banned the entry of around 938,000 bottles of infant formula and spare parts for water trucks. (November 12, 2025)
• Canada and the European Union issued a joint statement welcoming the first phase of the comprehensive plan to end the war in Gaza. They called for the full implementation of the agreement, including unhindered access for humanitarian aid and support for Gaza’s reconstruction. They affirmed their support for the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza, and that Hamas should have no role in its future governance. They also reiterated their commitment to the two-state solution, emphasizing the need to stop settler violence and settlement expansion, as well as Israel’s obligations under international law. (November 12, 2025)
• UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini affirmed that safeguarding UNRWA’s mandate and operations has become a vital necessity for the survival of millions of Palestinian refugees and for the success of any political process. He highlighted the political attacks and disinformation campaigns targeting the agency, and warned of an unprecedented financial crisis threatening the continuity of UNRWA’s services. (November 13, 2025)
• The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs condemned the burning of the Hajjah Hamida Mosque in Salfit Governorate by extremist settlers, holding Israel, the occupying power, responsible for this crime. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation also condemned what it described as a “terrorist crime.” ( November 13, 2025)
• The spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General expressed concern over the attack carried out by Israeli settlers, who set fire at night to a mosque in a village in the West Bank. He stated that the United Nations has condemned and will continue to condemn the attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their property in the West Bank. Thameen Al-Khaytan, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, noted that the settlers’ attacks which have included burning homes, trucks, and factories, as well as assaulting civilians reflect a broader pattern of escalating violence accompanied by the forcible displacement of Palestinians, which constitutes a war crime. (November 13-14, 2025)
• The Indonesian Defense Minister stated that his country has trained up to 20,000 soldiers to undertake health and construction tasks as part of a planned peacekeeping operation in the Gaza Strip, noting that no decision has yet been made regarding the timing of the deployment or the mandate the forces will have. He added that the president and the Jordanian king will discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiative to support peace efforts in Gaza, affirming Indonesia’s readiness to deploy troops if a decision is issued by the UN Security Council. (November 14, 2025)
• Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, together with twenty other members, introduced Resolution Res.876, which recognizes that the Israeli government has committed the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The resolution calls on the United States to take immediate and concrete actions to fulfill its legal obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. (November 14, 2025)
• The United States, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey announced their joint support for a draft Security Council resolution currently under consideration, which was drafted by the United States after consultations with Council members and regional partners. The statement affirmed that the resolution endorses the historic comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza. (November 14, 2025)
• The Guardian reported that U.S. military documents revealed a plan to divide Gaza into a green zone under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would begin, and a red zone that would remain destroyed, confining most of Gaza’s population. The plan also includes deploying international forces alongside Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza along what is referred to as the “yellow line.” (November 14, 2025)
• Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemned the storming of the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque by settlers and the assault on the Hajjah Hamida Mosque in the Palestinian village of Kifl Haris, stressing that these actions constitute a blatant violation of international law. (November 14, 2025)

Publications of human rights NGOs

• The International Crisis Group published a report titled: “Sovereignty in All but Name: Israel’s Quickening Annexation of the West Bank”. (November 9, 2025)
• B’Tselem stated that since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, Israel has killed at least 241 Palestinians in Gaza, including 117 children, and injured more than 600 people. It continues to obstruct the entry of humanitarian aid and starve the population, having rejected about 75% of aid-entry requests. B’Tselem added that the agreement did not include an international mechanism to ensure Israel’s compliance with international law, noting that Israel continues to bomb, starve, and destroy Gaza without restraint. The organization stressed that the silence of the international community enables the normalization of this reality. (November 10, 2025)
• Palestinian human rights organizations issued a position paper on the Israeli bill to impose the death penalty on Palestinians accused of killing Israelis. The organizations explained that Israel has not effectively abolished the death penalty since its establishment in 1948, but has instead carried it out in various forms through assassinations, sniper attacks, shootings at checkpoints and at protest participants, as well as killing detainees in prisons through torture and medical neglect. They considered that the new bill – which applies retroactively and targets only Palestinians – constitutes a dangerous escalation and a new chapter in policies of repression and racial discrimination. (November 10, 2025)
• The Human Rights Organizations Council affirmed that Israeli settler terrorism in the West Bank has reached its peak in two decades, stressing that this terrorism has become a tool of demographic engineering aimed at displacing Palestinians from their areas, with the support and tolerance of the occupying forces. It explained that the Israeli police neglect investigations and record most of these crimes as “perpetrated by unknown assailants.” The Council called for the disarming of settlers, holding them accountable for their crimes, and designating their groups as terrorist organizations. (November 10, 2025)
• The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights documented new testimonies from several Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip who had been released, revealing organized and systematic sexual torture, including rape, forced stripping, forced filming, and sexual assault using tools and dogs, in addition to deliberate psychological humiliation aimed at crushing human dignity. The Centre confirmed that these testimonies do not reflect isolated incidents but constitute a systematic policy practiced in the context of the crime of genocide. (November 10, 2025)
• According to a report published by The Guardian, a number of Israeli soldiers revealed in the documentary Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War a complete breakdown in norms and constraints inside Gaza. They confirmed random shooting at civilians, the use of human shields under what is known as the “Mosquito Protocol,” the demolition of buildings in areas classified as safe, and the designation of any Palestinian as a “legitimate target.” ( November 10, 2025)
• The Canadian organization CJPME (Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East) issued a report titled “The Toll of Intent: Looking at the Genocidal Impact of Israel’s Assault on Gaza.” The report stated that between 14% and 20% of Gaza’s population before 7 October 2023 has been killed or is expected to be killed as a result of Israeli operations and post-war conditions by the year 2030, if Canada and its allies do not intervene urgently. The report recommended that the Canadian government officially recognize that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, and called on the Canadian Parliament to pass resolutions acknowledging the genocide and imposing urgent measures against Israel. (November 10, 2025)
• The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate announced that Israeli occupying forces have killed 44 Palestinian journalists inside displacement tents in the Gaza Strip, out of a total of 255 media workers since the start of the aggression in 2023, describing this as a war crime. The syndicate called for the activation of the International Criminal Court mechanisms to hold those responsible (November 11, 2025)
• Amnesty International considered the Israeli Knesset’s majority approval of the first reading of a draft bill imposing the death penalty on individuals convicted of killing an Israeli as a dangerous and dramatic step backward, resulting from the ongoing impunity of Israel’s apartheid system. The organization noted that this comes amid unfair trials that convict Palestinians at a rate exceeding 99%. ( November 11, 2025)
• The Hind Rajab Foundation(HRF) filed a legal complaint before the Cypriot authorities demanding the arrest of an Israeli soldier on charges of torture, war crimes, and genocide during the Israeli military campaign on the Gaza Strip. The Foundation called for immediate measures against him, including investigation, arrest, and a travel ban. ( November 11, 2025)
• The New Jewish Narrative calls on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee to immediately hold a markup of the West Bank Violence Prevention Act. It stated that Israeli settler violence against Palestinians has reached historic highs, become systematic, and is too often met with total impunity. (November 11, 2025)
• Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) stated that several Palestinians were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers on residents of the village of Umm al-Kheir in the West Bank on November 9. The organization affirmed that the residents were at imminent risk of forced displacement following mass demolition orders issued by the Israeli Civil Administration, and called on Israel to halt all coercive measures. ( November 12, 2025)
• Four organizations: Game Over Israel, Athletes 4 Peace, The Gaza Tribunal and the Hind Rajab Foundation, sent a letter to the president of UEFA, demanding the immediate suspension of Israel’s membership in European football, stating that its continued participation contributes to the normalization of genocide and apartheid. (November 12, 2025)
• Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement published a report titled “The War on Food Production: Food Manufacturing Sector,” stating that Israel has systematically destroyed Gaza’s food industry. Satellite images showed that around 81% of Gaza’s buildings have been completely destroyed or severely damaged, exacerbating famine, deepening the humanitarian collapse, and entrenching total dependence on external aid, while Israel continues to exercise full control over border crossings and the routes through which food enters. (November 13, 2025)
• A report issued by Defense for Children International – Palestine revealed that three Palestinian boys from Gaza were abducted while searching for aid and taken to the Sde Teiman camp inside Israel, where they were subjected to systematic torture including beatings, being suspended in the air, electric shocks, the unleashing of dogs, deprivation of sleep and food, and confinement in a “disco room” with blaring music. (November 13, 2025)
• The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a criminal complaint before the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague against Israeli reservist and rapper Noam Tsurieli, accusing him of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide during the Israeli military campaign on Gaza. The Foundation called on the Czech authorities to investigate him, confiscate his devices, and impose restrictions on his movements. ( November 14, 2025)

Opinion Pieces and features

• Canary published an analytical essay by Robert Freeman titled: “British-based firm set to rob gas from occupied Palestine to Cyprus in $400 million deal”. (November 5, 2025)
• Haaretz published an editorial titled: “West Bank Violence Isn’t Mere ‘Friction’ but One-sided Settler Pogroms Against Palestinians.” (November 9, 2025)
• Mondoweiss magazine published an article by Felix Nobes entitled: “Israel killed her son and held his body. Her story is one of hundreds of Palestinian families.” (November 10, 2025)
• The Guardian published an opinion piece by Philippe Lazzarini entitled: “UNRWA has the capacity and expertise to support a postwar Gaza. We want to help make this peace work.” (November 10, 2025)
• The Atlantic published an article by Hana Kiros titled:“The Trump Administration Has a New Plan for Gaza”.(November 10,2025)
• The New York News published an op-ed by Mirav Zonszein titled : “There is No Cease -Fire in The West Bank”.(November 11,2025)
• Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) published an article by Hassan Nafaa titled: “Requirements for the Success of International Forces in Performing Their Tasks in Gaza.” (November 11, 2025)
• Prospect published an article by Alona Ferber titled: “‘The directive was nothing left’: How Gaza’s cities were destroyed”. (November 12, 2025)
• Al Jazeera published an article by Jeffrey Sachs and Sibyl Fares titled: “Trump wants to recreate the British mandate in Palestine.” (November 13, 2025)
• The International Crisis Group published an analytical article by Daniel Forti, Richard Gowan and Max Rodenbeck titled: “What to Look for as the Gaza Peace Plan Comes to the UN Security Council” (November 14, 2025)
• Opinio Juris published an article by Alessandra Spadaro titled: “Doing Business in Illegal Israeli Settlements, the Dutch Way”.(November 14,2025)
• Mondoweiss published an opinion piece by Michelle Bleitnick titled: “Why normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia won’t happen now, regardless of what Trump wants.” (November 14, 2025)

Human rights conferences and events

• The United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People held its second consultation of 2025 with civil society organizations in Santiago, Chile. Participants reaffirmed their commitment to and solidarity with the Palestinian people, calling on the international community to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to Israel’s illegal occupation, and achieve decisive progress toward implementing the two-State solution as the most reliable path to peace and security. They also emphasized the crucial role of civil society in urging governments to end the war and maintain recognition of the State of Palestine. (November 12, 2025)

Upcoming human rights opportunities and events

• The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People announced that it will hold a special meeting on 25 November 2025 to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will bring together Member States, observers, United Nations organizations, and intergovernmental and civil society organizations. Similar events will also be held at United Nations offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and other locations worldwide. (2025)