1. WHAT IS THE GREAT RETURN MARCH?

The Great Return March is a mass grass root movement which commenced on Land Day, on 30 March 2018, coinciding with the relocation of the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Palestinians participating in the Great Return March have been protesting against Israel’s 12-year imposed closure of the Gaza Strip which has brought Gaza to the brink of total collapse. The protesters have also called for the realisation of the right of Palestinian refugees to return, who were expelled and displaced following the Nakba in 1948, and who constitute approximately 73 percent of the population in Gaza.^[1] In its essence, the Great Return March also calls for an end to Israel’s prolonged occupation, exemplified in its policies and measures to colonise and annex the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). In response, Israel and its forces have relentlessly, deliberately and indiscriminately used excessive and lethal force against Palestinian civilians and protesters, including children, health workers, journalists and people with disabilities.

It is with great alarm and distress that we, the undersigned Palestinian civil society organisations, human rights groups, networks, and coalitions address this urgent statement to the German Bundestag and Government in light of its recent resolution against the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement,[1] dangerously conflating the movement and anti-Semitism, while more broadly targeting all civil society actors working towards the promotion and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of the Palestinian people and in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. We call on the German Government to refrain from adopting this resolution into law considering its serious ramifications for Palestinian civil society and its violation of Germany’s obligations as a third State party to ensure respect for international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

On Tuesday, 21 May 2019, Al-Haq received a delegation of Chilean Parliamentarians from different political parties, media and representatives of the Palestinian community in Chile. The visit, which was organized in coordination with the Department of Expatriates Affairs of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), aimed to brief the delegation on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and the latest developments on the ground.

Since 1967, Israel’s settlement enterprise has expanded throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), in violation of international law, resulting in the establishment of more than 250 settlements and outposts, with more than 600,000 settlers illegally residing therein.^[1] Settlements obstruct the realisation of human rights for the Palestinian population, including inter alia, the right to self-determination and freedom of movement. In addition, settlements are often situated close to Palestinian villages and communities, resulting in increased incidents of settler violence and attacks against Palestinians.^[2]