PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE – Issue. 307

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

16-22 Nov. 2025

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

Prepared by: Nour Kharouf, Murad Abu Murad, and Arwa Abdel Moniam

Translation: Maisaa Abdelqader and Sundus Frarajah

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 Presidency held the Israeli government fully responsible for the inflammatory statements made by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir against President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership, including his calls to arrest Abbas or assassinate senior Palestinian officials. (November 17, 2025)
• In a joint communiqué, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, prisoner organizations, and civil society institutions stated that the systematic crimes inside Israeli prisons have become an extension of the war of extermination. They warned that transforming detention centers into environments of oppression and torture is part of an organized policy to “brainwashing” and dismantling the Palestinian person. The statement called on states to comply with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and to dismantle the Israeli military justice system. (November 17, 2025)
• The Jerusalem Governorate described the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by eight settlers, who entered through the Lions’ Gate carrying a goat, three pigeons, and prayer items, as a dangerous escalation. It said the incident is part of a systematic colonial plan, officially supported by the Israeli occupation government, aimed at desecrating and Judaizing the mosque and imposing new colonial realities in favor of the occupation. (November 18, 2025)
• The State of Palestine welcomed the Security Council’s adoption of the U.S. draft resolution on Gaza, stating that it establishes a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, guarantees the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, and affirms the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state. (November 18, 2025)
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the adoption by the UN General Assembly of a package of resolutions on Palestine, calling for this stance to be translated into practical measures that ensure the protection of the Palestinian people and the realization of their independent state. (November 19, 2025)
• The Jerusalem Governorate stated that Israeli occupation authorities distributed more than 40 demolition and stop-work notices in two days in the Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood, describing it as a serious escalation aimed at uprooting Jerusalemites from their land. (November 20, 2025)

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

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his rejection of any plan that does not include disarming the part of Gaza controlled by Hamas, stressing that the Strip will be stripped of weapons and that Hamas will be punished by the easy way or hard way. He also reiterated his firm opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.                       ( November 16, 2025)
• Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed the countries that refrained from supporting the extension of UNRWA’s mandate in the recent United Nations vote, describing the significant increase in opposing states, from 3 to 10, and the sharp decrease in supporting states, from 165 to 149, as an important and encouraging development. He noted that some of the countries that abstained are themselves UNRWA donors, which he viewed as the beginning of international recognition of what he described as the agency’s negative role. Sa’ar reiterated that Israel will not cooperate with UNRWA, in accordance with the law passed by the Knesset. (November 19, 2025)
• The Knesset approved in its first reading an amendment to the 2025 UNRWA Suspension Law, which prohibits providing any property registered in UNRWA’s name with electricity or water services, and grants the state the authority to take possession of land classified as Israeli land that has been used by UNRWA in various compounds. (November 19, 2025)

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

• The United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories warned that Israel’s genocidal practices in Gaza have inflicted unimaginable pain and suffering. Presenting its latest report to the General Assembly, the Committee said that Israel continues to expand its presence and control over territory in Palestine, Syria and Southern Lebanon. “Israel’s constant claims to a borderless “Land of Israel” are incompatible with a just and lasting peace and will bring nothing but more suffering and dispossession to the Middle East region if not reined in by the international community,” the Committee said.(November 17, 2025)
• The United Nations Security Council approved, by a majority of 13 votes with Russia and China abstaining, a resolution proposed by the United States to establish a temporary international force to stabilize the Gaza Strip. The resolution supports the U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the conflict in Gaza, and stipulates the creation of a “Peace Council” as a transitional administrative body with international legal personality to coordinate funding and Gaza’s redevelopment, pending the completion of the Palestinian Authority’s reform program. (November 17, 2025)
• The United Kingdom voted in favor of the Security Council resolution on Gaza, describing it as a crucial transitional phase in implementing the peace plan and closing the chapter on two years of war. It emphasized the need to expedite the deployment of the international stabilization force and to strengthen humanitarian efforts by opening all crossings and enabling relief agencies to operate without obstacles. The UK called for an urgent increase in humanitarian aid and the opening of all crossings, while stressing the importance of implementing transitional arrangements for the Palestinian Authority to assume responsibility for governing Gaza in the future. (November 17/18, 2025)
• The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, stated that Palestinians across Gaza are suffering from cold and damp conditions following recent rains, with their plight worsening due to flooding and the destruction of what remains of their homes. He emphasized the urgent need to lift remaining restrictions to ensure the rapid delivery of additional humanitarian aid. (November 17, 2025)
• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated that after two years of catastrophic war in Gaza, there is finally a path forward, calling on all parties to work toward transforming the ceasefire into lasting peace. He said that the Security Council’s adoption of a resolution on Gaza represents an important step in consolidating the ceasefire. (November 17/18, 2025)
• A report issued by the UN Secretary-General stated that the forced transfer of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Israel’s settlement of parts of the occupied territory continue to alter the demographic composition and legal status of the land, and may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity. The report was presented to the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly by Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Elzie Brands-Kerris, who emphasized that the root cause of the cycles of killing and repression is the denial of Palestinians’ rights, including the right to self-determination. She stressed that any solution must begin with ending Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, noting Israel’s ongoing annexation and displacement of large segments of Palestinian communities. (November 17, 2025)
• The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned what it described as the hateful and unacceptable incitement statements issued by the extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, which called for targeting the Palestinian leadership. The ministry considered these statements a blatant transgression and an unacceptable direct threat.    ( November 18, 2025)
• League of Arab States Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit affirmed that the recent UN Security Council resolution on ending the war in the Gaza Strip represents the beginning of a path rather than its end. He stressed that the next phase will require intensive efforts at all levels to translate the resolution’s provisions into tangible improvements of the lives of the Palestinian people. (November 18, 2025)
• On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for full respect of the ceasefire, wide-scale access for humanitarian aid into Gaza, and support for UNRWA as an irreplaceable lifeline. He renewed his call to end the unlawful occupation and to achieve irreversible progress toward a two-state solution, stressing the necessity of solidarity with the rights of the Palestinian people. ( November 18, 2025)
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, criticized the Security Council’s recent resolution 2803 on Palestine, describing it as “shocking but true.” Albanese said the resolution, through its “security-first, capital-driven model of foreign control,” places Gaza in the hands of a “puppet administration,” arguing that the United States has become “the new manager of an open-air prison.” She added that this approach only “further crushing Palestine’s right to self-determination and any path to peace.” (November 18, 2025)
• France welcomed the endorsement of Security Council Resolution 2803 supporting the peace plan in Gaza, affirming that its vote in favor was intended to support the political track aimed at permanently ending the war, ensuring broad humanitarian assistance, preventing an escalation of violence, and creating conditions for a credible political horizon based on the two-state solution. (November 18, 2025)
• The Archbishop of York expressed his strong condemnation of Israeli actions against the Palestinians, describing what is taking place in the Gaza Strip as “ genocidal acts” and in the occupied West Bank as a system of “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing.” He called on the international church to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to ensure international accountability and protect Palestinian rights. (November 18,2025)
• The Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, with 149 votes in favor, 10 against, and 13 abstentions, renewing UNRWA’s mandate until 30 June 2029. The resolution expressed regret that Palestinian refugees have neither been repatriated nor compensated, and stressed the need for the Agency’s operations to continue without hindrance until a just solution to their plight is achieved. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini underscored the importance of ensuring adequate funding for the Agency’s services. (November 19, 2025)
• The United Nations General Assembly adopted several resolutions concerning Palestine, addressing the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, the work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices, the condemnation of Israeli settlements, assistance to Palestinian refugees through the renewal of UNRWA’s mandate, as well as a resolution relating to Palestinian refugees’ properties and their revenues. ( November 19, 2025)
• Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs imposed targeted financial sanctions and entry bans on four Israeli individuals for their involvement in acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The individuals are Meir Mordechai Ettinger, Elisha Yered, Ben-Zion Gopstein and Baruch Marzel. Singapore called on the Israeli government to restrain acts of settler violence and to hold the perpetrators accountable. (November 21, 2025)
• UN agencies stated that attacks attributed to Israeli forces in Gaza continue to kill and injure people of all ages despite the ceasefire agreement. UNICEF confirmed that at least 67 children have been killed since 10 October, averaging two children per day in “conflict-related incidents.” ( November 21,2025)

Publications of human rights NGOs

• Haaretz revealed that an organization called “Al-Majd,” run by an Israeli-Estonian citizen, evacuated hundreds of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip via charter flights to countries such as Indonesia and South Africa, charging around $2,000 per person. Haaretz also reported that the Voluntary Immigration Office of the Israeli Ministry of Defense referred the company to the Israeli army to assist in coordinating the departures. (November 16, 2025)
• Physicians for Human Rights – Israel revealed that at least 94 Palestinians died in Israeli detention facilities between 7 October 2023 and August 2025, noting that the actual number may be higher due to military practices of enforced disappearance. The report indicated that these deaths are part of a systematic policy, with testimonies indicating attempts by Israel to conceal the deaths and prevent investigations in order to allow those responsible to evade accountability. (November 17, 2025)
• The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a criminal complaint in Copenhagen against an Israeli soldier from Patrol Battalion 846, known as the “Samson Foxes” of the Givati Brigade, accusing him of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts amounting to genocide during the military campaign on Gaza. The complaint was lodged on the basis of the Danish Criminal Law and the Rome Statute. ( November 17,2025)
• BADIL Center issued a position paper entitled, “The Decisive Plan: The Israeli Regime’s Blueprint for Colonial Expansion and Palestinian Subjugation,” revealing how the Israeli regime has entrenched Bezalel Smotrich’s 2017 plan as a practical strategy to impose “sovereignty” over the West Bank and solidify colonial domination over all of Palestine within its Mandate-era borders. The paper explains that Israeli policy is based on the principle of “the largest area of land with the fewest number of Palestinians.” (November 17, 2025)
• The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BNC) National Committee stated the UN Security Council’s adoption of the illegal and colonial Trump-Netanyahu plan for Gaza, constitutes a violation of international law and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. (November 18, 2025)
• Amnesty International Australia expressed its disappointment with the UN Security Council resolution on Gaza, stating that it fails to address the brutal, unlawful occupation, Israel’s genocide against Palestinians, and the system of apartheid. The organisation stated that the resolution does not end Israeli genocide or provide a pathway for Palestinian Statehood, self-governance, or determination. It emphasized that the resolution divides Gaza leaving the Palestinians who have survived more than two years of relentless bombardment, starvation, and frequent displacement confined to an area that will not benefit from reconstruction, and does not guarantee their meaningful participation in all decisions concerning the future of the occupied Palestinian territory. (November 19, 2025)
• Europol, the European Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, invited the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) to speak at its annual meeting in The Hague, as part of a broader communication process to explore possible cooperation between HRF and Europol. (November 19, 2025)
• Human Rights Watch confirmed that the forced displacement of 32,000 Palestinians from the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps during January and February 2025 amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, constituting ethnic cleansing. The organization noted that satellite imagery analysis confirmed the destruction of more than 850 buildings and damage to 1,460 others, and that Israel prevented residents from returning without any compelling military justification. (November 19, 2025)
• Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights in Gaza issued a position paper reaffirming that the continued Israeli occupation’s retention of the bodies of martyrs and its refusal to hand them over to their families constitutes an “ongoing war crime.” The Association explained that the Ministry of Health had received only 330 bodies out of 450, and examinations revealed signs of torture and abuse on a large number of them. (November 19, 2025)
• Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, together with other organizations, submitted a petition to the Supreme Court demanding that Israel reinstate the system for evacuating patients and the wounded from the Gaza Strip to hospitals in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The petition stressed that Israel, which controls all Gaza crossings and has played a direct role in the destruction of its health system, bears the legal responsibility to ensure patients’ access to care. (20 November 2025)
• Palestinian civil society organizations condemned UN Security Council Resolution 2803, considering it as an endorsement of the illegal US-Israeli occupation of Gaza and an imposition on the Palestinian people without their consent, in flagrant violation of their right to self-determination. (November 20, 2025)
• ​​The Palestinian policy network published a policy memo titled: “Trump’s UNSC Resolution 2803: Repackaged Colonial Rule,” discussing how the resolution reinforces ethnic cleansing and American colonial domination. (November 20, 2025)
• Médecins Sans Frontières MSF denounced yet another wave of bloodshed in Gaza, with its teams continuing to treat critically wounded Palestinians following Israeli airstrikes and quadcopter attacks. The organisation reiterated its call for the protection of all civilians, medical personnel, and healthcare facilities. (November 20, 2025)

Research and academic studies (in Arabic and English):

• The YIECPL journal published a research paper by researcher Claudia Blance titled: “Past and Future of the Ban on Returning Palestinian Arabs to Israel. A Crime of Persecution for a People who continue to suffer” (2025)
• The Juris Gentium Law Review journal published a research paper by researchers Muhammad Erza Aimar Rizky and Muhammad Habibie titled: “From Condemnation to Complacency: A Critical Review of the UN’s Evolving Response to Israeli Settlements in the West Bank (2005–2024)” (2025)

Opinion Pieces and features

• Middle East Monitor published an op-ed article by Dr. Oroub El-Abed entitled: “A New Face of Ethnic Cleansing: From Siege to Demographic Engineering.” (16 November 2025)
• Mondoweiss published an article by Tareq S. Hajjaj titled: “Palestinians in Gaza Reject UN Security Council Approval of Trump’s Plan: It’s a ‘New Occupation’.” (November 18, 2025)
• Arab News published an op-ed article by Osama Al-Sharif entitled: “West Bank terror wave is sanctioned Israeli policy.” ( November 18, 2025)
• Mondoweiss published an article by Craig Mokhiber titled: “The UN Embraces Colonialism: Unpacking the Security Council’s Mandate for the U.S. Colonial Administration of Gaza .” (November 19, 2025)
• Middle East Eye published an opinion piece by Jonathan Cook entitled: “Trump is turning Gaza into a brutal colonial protection racket.” (November 21, 2025)

Upcoming human rights opportunities and events

• The United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People announced that it will screen the film “The Voice of Hind Rajab” at UN Headquarters in New York on 4 December 2025, as part of the observances of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It also announced that the main International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People event will be held on 25 November 2025 at UN Headquarters in New York. (2025)