PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE – Issue. 357

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

1 – 8 November 2026

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

Prepared by: Nour Kharouf and Arwa Abdel Moniam

Translation:Firdous Abdelhameed and Aseel Ghabayen

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:

• On the 109th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates emphasised that the Declaration constituted a defining moment in the colonial project targeting Palestine and its people. The Ministry noted that its repercussions ranged from massacres, the 1948 Nakba, displacement, and land confiscation, to occupation, settlement expansion, and annexation, culminating in genocide, starvation, and forced displacement. Furthermore, the Ministry called upon Great Britain to fully recognize the rights of the Palestinian people and to acknowledge its historical and political responsibility for the role played by the Balfour Declaration in the colonisation of Palestine. (November 2, 2026)
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli occupation authorities’ commencement of the demolition of the Palestinian Bedouin community in Bir al-Maskub, east of occupied Jerusalem, located within the area targeted by the ‘E1’ settlement plan. The Ministry emphasised that these measures constitute a grave violation of international law.(November 5, 2026)

Legal Updates by Official Israeli Bodies:

• The Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported that the election of five new judges to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had raised concerns in Israel regarding the Court’s impartiality in cases involving Israel. According to the report, some of the newly elected judges had previously participated in legal proceedings concerning Israeli violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The newspaper also quoted Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon, as questioning the judges’ ability to adjudicate cases related to Israel objectively and without bias. (November 5, 2026)

United Nations Statements and Publications:

• UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated that the end of the nine-day Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Hebron, which displaced thousands of Palestinians, had allowed hundreds of families to return to their homes. Dujarric stressed the need to protect Palestinians, prevent further demolitions and displacement, ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid, and end any measures that constitute collective punishment. (November 2, 2026)
• The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported the displacement of dozens of Palestinians in the Istiya area of Jericho following a raid by settlers who seized homes and assaulted residents with live ammunition, beatings and stone-throwing, resulting in injuries and the flight of families. The area was subsequently declared a closed military zone, preventing humanitarian teams from reaching the affected population. Additionally, the UN recorded 377 incidents of settler violence during the olive harvest season in the West Bank since September, resulting in the killing of one Palestinian, injuries to over 200 others and damage to more than 3,850 olive trees and saplings—a record high since documentation began in 2006. (November 5, 2026)

Legal Updates by Regional and International Bodies:

• The League of Arab States condemned the repeated and systematic violations and repressive measures targeting detainees from the Gaza Strip held in the ‘Rakevet’ section of Ramla Prison, which resulted in injuries and burns among several detainees, warning of the gravity of such practices as a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. (November 1, 2026)
• The League of Arab States renewed its call on the United Kingdom and the international community, on the 109th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, to intensify pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to put an end to their violations and crimes against the Palestinian people and to advance efforts towards implementing the two-state solution. The Arab Parliament also affirmed that the declaration constituted a historic crime against the Palestinian people, the repercussions of which continue to this day. (November 2, 2026)
• US President Donald Trump announced that he had made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under which Washington would stop providing $4 billion in annual funding to Israel after this year, while continuing to sell weapons to Israel and provide support when needed. (November 3, 2026)
• The Italian Chamber of Deputies rejected the motion to fast-track a bill banning the import and promotion of goods and services from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, while the bill remains pending before the Foreign Affairs Committee. (November 3, 2026)
• The Council of Arab Information Ministers affirmed that the Palestinian cause will remain the central Arab cause, reaffirming its support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and to establish an independent state. The Council also called for ensuring the protection and safety of Palestinian journalists and holding those responsible for crimes committed against them accountable. (November 4, 2026)
• The African Union Commission, the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation affirmed in a joint statement that achieving a just and lasting peace in the region requires ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state along the borders of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The organisations called for the implementation of the second phase of the Gaza peace agreement, ensuring a permanent ceasefire, the lifting of the blockade, the reopening of border crossings and reconstruction. They also rejected the forced displacement of Palestinians in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. (November 4, 2026)
• The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) affirmed its commitment to its mandate and to continuing the provision of education, healthcare and relief services to Palestine refugees across its five fields of operation, despite growing financial and operational challenges. The Agency called on donors to provide sustainable and predictable funding, warning that no other organisation is capable of delivering comparable services at the required scale, particularly in the Gaza Strip. (November 5, 2026)

Publications of Human Rights NGOs:

• Al Mezan Center for Human Rights issued a report entitled “History in the Midst of Genocide” documenting the destruction of or damage to approximately 71.5% of Gaza’s documented cultural heritage. This includes historic mosques and churches, Ottoman- and Mamluk-era houses, archaeological hills, Byzantine mosaics and museums whose collections have been looted. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel renewed its call on academics, artists, museums, and archaeologists worldwide to boycott Israeli institutions complicit in violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, reject the circulation of looted artefacts from Gaza, and exert pressure to ensure international accountability for the destruction of cultural heritage, which constitutes a war crime. (November 1, 2026)
• The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) affirmed that the absence of international accountability for the Israeli occupation over the crimes and violations committed against the press and journalists in Palestine, amounting to ‘media genocide’, perpetuates continued impunity. Furthermore, the Syndicate called upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) to announce its judicial proceedings regarding the complaints submitted against the perpetrators of crimes against Palestinian journalists. (November 2,2026)
• Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) stated that US President Donald Trump’s announcement regarding the suspension of annual military aid to Israel constitutes an unprecedented shift. However, DAWN emphasised that halting financial aid alone does not end the United States’ complicity in Israeli crimes, and called for the suspension of all arms transfers to Israel. (November 4, 2026)
• The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) called on the UK Metropolitan Police to urgently open an investigation into the hosting of the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA), an Israeli government agency, at the World Travel Market (WTM) exhibition held in London from 3 to 5 November 2026. ICJP emphasised that the Authority is actively involved in the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, the expropriation of Palestinian land and the displacement of Palestinian residents. (November 4, 2026)
• Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel reported that the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court had extended the detention of Abed Abu Shehadeh a Palestinian journalist and political activist from Jaffa. Adalah stated that his arrest was part of a campaign to silence Palestinian journalists and political activists and affirmed its intention to appeal the ruling extending his detention. (November 4, 2026)
• Peace Now reported that Israeli settler families had established a new illegal outpost in the Ein a-Duyuk at-Tahta neighbourhood of Jericho, backed by the Nachala movement and the Binyamin Regional Council. Peace Now warned that establishing a settlement within Jericho would lead to heightened friction, increased violence and severe restrictions on Palestinian movement, calling for the Israeli army to immediately evacuate the outpost. (November 5,2026)
• Amnesty International called on the Israeli authorities to immediately release Ghassan Najjar, who was arrested during a raid on the village of Burin, south of Nablus, on 27 October. The organisation stated that his arrest was linked to his peaceful activism in protecting land and supporting farmers during the olive harvest season. It warned that he could be placed under administrative detention without charge or trial, noting that Israeli authorities were holding 3,101 Palestinians in administrative detention. (November 5, 2026)
• The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported that seven Palestinians, including a young girl, were killed and others, including children, were wounded as a result of Israeli attacks and gunfire in various areas of the Gaza Strip. (November 5, 2026)
• Friends of the Earth International called on governments and grassroots movements worldwide to take action to hold companies and financial institutions accountable for their involvement in enabling and profiting from the ongoing genocide in Palestine. The organisation urged a boycott of such entities and the termination of all business relations with them. (November 5, 2026)
• In a joint statement, the organisations Bimkom, Ir Amim and Peace Now warned that the Israeli authorities had moved from settlement planning to actual displacement on the ground. The organisations stressed that the continuation of these actions raises serious concerns regarding the forcible transfer of a protected population. (November 6, 2026)
• The Business & Human Rights Centre published a briefing entitled “Occupation, Genocide and the Private Sector: Key Findings from Alleged Abuses Linked to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The Centre highlighted what it described as widespread corporate failures to meet responsibilities under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, noting significant gaps in corporate due diligence and human rights compliance. (November 6, 2026)

Opinion Pieces and Features:

• The New Arab published an opinion article by Mouin Rabbani, titled:“Israel’s Elections: More Arab Votes, Same Zionist Consensus”. (November 2, 2026)
• Law Society Gazette published an article by Michael D. Higgins, former President of Ireland,titled: “Gaza could be ‘graveyard of international law’’”. (November 2, 2026)
• +972 Magazine published an article by Fadi Shabita, titled:“An Israeli professor plotted to massacre Palestinians. Social media rejoiced”. (November 4, 2026)
• Völkerrechtsblog published an article by Jad Houari, titled:“No Order to Leave: Settler Violence and Forcible Transfer in the Occupied West Bank”. (November 4, 2026)
• EJIL: Talk! published an article by Eric Fripp, titled:“Recognition of Palestine, the International Law of Statelessness, and International Refugee Law”. (November 5, 2026)
• Thinking Palestine published an article by Craig Mokhiber, titled:“The Great Dismantling: International Law and Institutions in the Age of Zionist Genocide”. (November 6, 2026)
• Genocide Watch published an article by Maximilian Millington, titled:“Israel’s Imposition of Measures Intended to Prevent Births in Gaza”.(November 7, 2026)

Upcoming Human Rights Opportunities and Events:

• Activists and campaigners in solidarity with the Palestinian people organised a protest at Port Elizabeth in the US state of New Jersey, opposing the export and transfer shipments of arms and military equipment to Israel, the occupying state.
• Impunity Watch participated in a seminar entitled “Eyewitnesses: Living Under Impunity” During the event, the organisation discussed the Dutch government’s continued provision of funding and support to Israel despite the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip. It also highlighted the “Red Line” protest, organised by more than 150 civil society organisations, which calls for decisive measures to pressure Israel to halt the genocide and end the unlawful occupation of Palestine. (November 3, 2026)
• The “Britain Owes Palestine” initiative announced a seminar entitled “What Does Britain Owe Palestine?”, to be held on 17 November at Trinity College, University of Oxford, marking the 109th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. The event will examine Britain’s responsibility for its rule over Palestine between 1917 and 1948 and the implications for acknowledgement, apology and reparative justice.
• Orient-Institut Beirut and the American University of Beirut (AUB) announced an open call for applications to participate in a writing workshop entitled “Concepts of Property, Land, Law and Economy in Palestine and Beyond”. Applicants are required to submit a 500-word research abstract and a short CV through the application form. The deadline for submissions is 15 November 2026.

Legal Achievements/Impacts for Palestine:

• Adalah submitted a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court on behalf of the Hebron Municipality, demanding an end to the forced displacement of residents from their homes, the demolition of civilian structures and sweeping movement restrictions. (November 4, 2026)
• The UK Supreme Court heard a legal challenge against the government’s decision to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. Lawyers representing the group argued that Palestine Action is a non-violent protest movement that seeks to disrupt British arms supplies to Israel and that its activities are comparable to those of previous protest movements in the United Kingdom. (November 5, 2026)

Research and academic studies (in Arabic and English): 

• Journal of Palestine Studies published a research article by Nicola Perugini and Shaira Vadasaria, titled: “Balfour University: Race, Imperial Education, and the Declaration on Palestine”. (February 18, 2026)
• London Review of International Law published a research article co-authored by Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini, titled: “Enabling state violence in times of genocide: the International Committee of the Red Cross’s Commentary on human shields”. (November 3, 2026)