Ramallah – 31/3/2021 – Last week, MIFTAH held a special session to showcase and discuss policy papers on Israel’s city center and “Silicon Valley” plans for Jerusalem and also Israeli violations against the commercial and tourist sectors in Hebron’s old city. Data and information was collected by youth defenders in Jerusalem and Hebron as part of MIFTAH’s EU-funded project “Palestinian Youth as Human Rights Defenders”, implemented in Jerusalem, Hebron and the Gaza Strip.
MIFTAH Executive Director, Tahreer Araj opened the session by stressing on the importance of the project within the Palestinian context, maintaining it was a crucial tool for monitoring and documenting Israeli violations, which could help to contribute to promoting the efforts of civil society and rights organizations in exposing Israeli violations and crimes against the Palestinian people in international arenas. “For MIFTAH, this project is important in that it contributes to creating a community of Palestinian youth that is aware of its needs and has the ability to convey the Palestinian narrative to the world. In turn, this allows them to fight for a free and democratic rights-based society.”
Presentations
This was followed by a presentation of the findings regarding plans for Jerusalem’s city center, showcased by human rights defender, Mohammad Miqdad. He said this was a plan based on settlement expansion and aimed at Judaizing Jerusalem and impacting the social, economic and housing aspects of Jerusalemite lives. Miqdad explained that the plan expands over an area of 689 dunams in the most sensitive and vital regions of the city, with a long-term goal of taking control of the land and Judaizing Jerusalem including maintaining a Jewish majority in it. The plan also aims to “Israelize” the characteristics of Palestinian existence in Jerusalem and isolate it from its Jerusalem surroundings by fragmenting Palestinian neighborhoods in the city and increasing economic restrictions on its people. This, he concluded, would have a major impact on Jerusalemites in terms of limiting possibilities for housing options by not allowing additional construction, which is necessary for natural growth. Miqdad said ultimately, this would force a large number of people to look for housing outside Jerusalem. What’s more, he explained how Israeli authorities violate Jerusalemites’ right to housing and education and also undermine commercial activity in and around the Old City in addition to absenting the Palestinian cultural and heritage identity of the city.
In response to this plan, recommendations included increasing the budget of the Jerusalem Affairs Ministry and increasing financial support for educational facilities; offering direct support to civil society institutions and merchants, reviving the role of the international community through advocacy and lobbying campaigns, filing complaints against Israel in international forums such as UNESCO and the ICC, and calling on signatories of the Fourth Geneva Convention to guarantee its application in the occupied territories.
Meanwhile, Nadine Tamimi and Marwa Shweiki, from the human rights defenders group in Hebron, broached Israeli policies targeting the commercial and tourist sectors in Hebron’s old city and how this is linked to the settlement presence in Hebron, where there are 22 settlements, 15 settlement outposts and four industrial settlements in which 19,000 settlers live in total.
The defenders pointed to Israeli army and settler measures against old city residents and international activists who are prohibited from entering certain areas such as “Dabuya”, the vegetable market and Shuhada Street. Israeli authorities are also zeroing in on the Ibrahimi Mosque and the religious and historical sites inside the Old City, which would have been thriving tourist sites if were not for the violations of Israeli occupation forces and settlers.
Regarding tourism in Hebron’s old city, the policy paper showed that Israeli authorities attract foreign tourists to the area behind the Ibrahimi Mosque, which has resulted in a decline in tourist activity in Palestinian markets. This is compounded by the fact that there are nearly 100 Israeli military checkpoints inside the old city alone.
The policy paper included several recommendations, including raising the level of tourist and commercial awareness in Hebron’s old city, reviving marketing and tourist media, calling on the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism to formulate a national plan for the old city, signing twin city agreements between the Hebron municipality and municipalities around the world, calling on UNESCO to protect the old city and revitalizing old city stores through virtual trading by the city’s Chamber of Commerce.
This was followed by interventions pertaining to the two policy papers including: reviving and amplifying legal interventions by rights and civil society institutions that follow up on the plans for Jerusalem’s city center and Silicon Valley; urging the Jerusalemite community and all institutions working in Jerusalem to increase objections to this plan; and calling on all local, Arab and international parties to increase pressure on Israel and revive the Palestinian and Arab culture, literature and identity of Jerusalem.
An important recommendation was made for Hebron’s old city, which was to establish a coordinating body among all parties working in this area to encourage the return of citizens and institutions to the old city. This could be achieved through offering certain incentives and reviving the work of the various ministries in the old city.
In this regard, deputy governor of Hebron, Rafiq Al Jaabrai called on all institutions in the old city to participate in a meeting to follow up on the recommendations from the session.
The meeting was closed by MIFTAH’s project coordinator for youth as human rights defenders, Waad Qannam who confirmed the important role of these youth defenders in Jerusalem, Hebron and the Gaza Strip in documenting Israeli violations. He cited the lobbying and advocacy campaigns at the international level that resulted from the project and the production of policy papers by the youth defenders, which include practical interventions at the local and international level towards the protection of human rights. Another outcome of this session was promoting coordination between Jerusalemite rights groups working to combat Israel’s plan in the city center and to also establish a coordinating council for rights institutions working in the old city of Hebron under the auspices of the Hebron governor.
جلسة خاصة في 'مفتاح' تستعرض ورقتي حقائق وسياسات حول مخطط مركز المدينة في مدينة القدس، والانتهاكات بحق القطاعين التجاري والسياحي في البلدة القديمة من الخليل
تاريخ النشر: 06/04/2021
بقلم: مفتاح
رام الله – 31/3/2021 – عقدت المبادرة الفلسطينية لتعميق الحوار العالمي والديمقراطية "مفتاح" جلسة خاصة اليوم الأربعاء تم خلالها عرض ومناقشة ورقة حقائق وتقرير حول مخطط الاحتلال المعروف بمخطط مركز المدينة وواد السيلكون في القدس، وانتهاكات الاحتلال بحق القطاعين التجاري والسياحي في البلدة القديمة من الخليل، حيث تم جمع البيانات والمعلومات من قبل المدافعين الشباب في كل من القدس والخليل، ضمن مشروع "الشباب الفلسطيني كمدافعين عن حقوق الإنسان" الذي تنفذه مؤسسة "مفتاح" بدعم من الاتحاد الأوروبي في كل من القدس والخليل وقطاع غزة.
افتتحت الجلسة بكلمة د. تحرير الأعرج المديرة التنفيذية لمؤسسة "مفتاح"، أكدت فيها على أهمية هذا المشروع في السياق الفلسطيني، كونه يشكل أداة مهمة لرصد وتوثيق الانتهاكات الإسرائيلية والتي يمكن أن تستخدم للمساهمة في تعزيز جهود المجتمع المدني والمؤسسات الحقوقية في نشر انتهاكات الاحتلال على ما ترتكبه من جرائم وانتهاكات بحق الشعب الفلسطيني في المنابر الدولية. أضافت:" تأتي أهمية المشروع بالنسبة لمفتاح، كونه يساهم في رفد المجتمع بشباب فلسطيني واعي لحقوقه ولديه القدرة على رصد وتوثيق انتهاكات الاحتلال وإيصال الرواية الفلسطينية للعالم، وبالتالي النضال من أجل مجتمع حر ديمقراطي تسوده هذه الحقوق"، مشيرةً إلى جملة مهمة من البيانات والمعلومات التي رصدها ووثقها الشباب المدافعون عن حقوق الإنسان في القدس والخليل حول مخطط مركز المدينة، ووادي السيلكون، والوضع التجاري والسياحي فيهما.
الاستعراض
بعد ذلك، تم استعراض أهم المعطيات المتعلقة بمخطط مركز المدينة في القدس المحتلة قدمه المدافع عن حقوق الإنسان في القدس محمد مقداد، مشيراً إلى أن هذا المخطط هو استيطاني مُعَدّ لتهويد معالم القدس وللتأثير على الحياة السكنية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية للمقدسيين حيث يمتد على ما مساحته 689 دونما في أكثر المناطق حساسية وحيوية، وتعتبر العصب الحيوي والاقتصادي لمدينة القدس، وأن هدفه البعيد هو الاستيلاء على الأرض وتهويد المدينة المقدسة والحفاظ على أغلبية يهودية استيطانية فيها، وأسرلة مكونات الوجود الفلسطيني، وعزلها عن محيطها الفلسطيني، وتفتيت الأحياء المقدسية، وزيادة الخناق الاقتصادي على المقدسيين، مما سيكون له بالغ الأثر على المقدسيين من ناحية تحديد وتقييد إمكانيات تطوير السكن، من خلال عدم السماح بإضافة بناء للسكن، وعدم ملاءمته مع الزيادة الطبيعية للسكان، وبالتالي إجبار عدد كبير من السكان على البحث عن سكن خارج القدس، بالإضافة إلى اقترافه جملة من الانتهاكات بحق المقدسيين من خلال تغيير معالم المدينة دون استشارتهم وبشكل يهدد وجودهم، وانتهاك الحق في السكن والتعليم، وإضعاف الحركة التجارية داخل البلدة القديمة وفي محيطها، وتغييب الهوية الثقافية والتراثية لمدينة القدس.
ولمواجهة هذا المخطط اقترحت التوصيات، رفع موازنة وزارة شؤون القدس، وزيادة الدعم المالي للمرافق التعليمية، ودعم مؤسسات المجتمع المدني والتجار بشكل مباشر، وتفعيل دور المجتمع الدولي من خلال حملات الضغط والمناصرة، ورفع شكاوى على الاحتلال في المحافل الدولية كاليونسكو، والجنائية الدولية، ومطالبة الدول الموقعة على اتفاقية جنيف الرابعة بضمان تطبيقها على الأراضي المحتلة.
في حين تطرقت المدافعتان ندين التميمي ومروى الشويكي من مجموعة الشباب المدافعين عن حقوق الإنسان في مدينة الخليل إلى سياسات الاحتلال التي تستهدف القطاعين التجاري والسياحي في البلدة القديمة في مدينة الخليل، وما يرتبط بذلك من واقع استيطاني في المحافظة حيث توجد 22 مستوطنة، إضافة إلى 15 بؤرة استيطانية، و4 مستوطنات صناعية، يقطنها جميعاً 19 ألف مستوطن.
وأشارت الورقة إلى ممارسات الاحتلال ومستوطنيه بحق سكان البلدة القديمة والنشطاء الدوليين ومنعهم من دخول مناطق مثل الدبويا، وسوق الخضار وشارع الشهداء وتضييق الخناق حول الحرم الإبراهيمي الشريف والأماكن الدينية والتاريخية داخل البلدة القديمة والتي من المفترض أن تكون مقصداً سياحياً بارزاً لولا انتهاكات الاحتلال ومستوطنيه.
وفيما يتعلق بالوضع الاقتصادي، أشارت الدراسة إلى أن إجمالي الخسائر المباشرة وغير المباشرة عن إغلاق المحلات التجارية بأمر عسكري قدرت بنحو 485 مليون دولار، خلال ال 25 عاماً الماضية، ما تسبب بحرمان آلاف الأُسَر من فرص العمل الوحيدة المتاحة لهم، وارتفاع معدلات الفقر ، حيث بات نحو 75% من سكان البلدة القديمة دون خط الفقر.
وفيما يتعلق بالوضع السياحي بالبلدة القديمة من الخليل، أشارت الدراسة إلى قيام الاحتلال باستقطاب السياح الأجانب من الجهة الخلفية للحرم الإبراهيمي، ما أضعف الحركة السياحية في الأسواق الفلسطينية، وزاد من تدهورها وجود قرابة 100 حاجز عسكري داخل البلدة القديمة.
واشتملت ورقة السياسات المقدمة على مجموعة من التوصيات من أبرزها رفع مستوى التوعية السياحية والتجارية في البلدة القديمة، وتنشيط التسويق التجاري والإعلام السياحي، ومطالبة وزارة السياحة الفلسطينية بوضع خطة وطنية للبلدة القديمة، وتوقيع اتفاقات توأمة بين بلدية الخليل وبلديات عالمية، ودعوة اليونسكو إلى حماية البلدة القديمة في الخليل، وتفعيل عمل المحلات التجارية عبر التجارة عن بعد من قبل الغرفة التجارية في المدينة.
تلا ذلك مجموعة من المداخلات المتعلقة بورقتي السياسات، كان من أبرزها: تفعيل وتعظيم التدخلات القانونية من قبل المؤسسات الحقوقية ومؤسسات المجتمع المدني التي تتابع مخطط مركز المدينة ووادي السيلكون، وحث المجتمع المقدسي وجميع الهيئات والمؤسسات العاملة في القدس، على زيادة عدد الاعتراضات ضد هذا المخطط، بالإضافة إلى دعوة مختلف الأطراف المحلية والعربية والدولية لزيادة ضغطها على الاحتلال، وإعادة الاعتبار للثقافة والأدب والهوية الفلسطينية ولعروبة مدينة القدس.
في حين برزت توصية هامة أخرى تتعلق بأوضاع البلدة القديمة من الخليل لدعم الوجود السكاني فيها، من خلال وجود جسم تنسيقي بين جميع الجهات العاملة هناك، وتشجيع عودة المواطنين والمؤسسات إلى البلدة القديمة من خلال مجموعة من الحوافز التشجيعية، وتفعيل عمل وزارات دولة فلسطين المختلفة هناك.
واستجابة لتوصية الجلسة المتعلقة بإنشاء جسم تنسيقي للمؤسسات العاملة في البلدة القديمة لمتابعة أوضاع حقوق الإنسان فيها، دعا نائب محافظ الخليل السيد رفيق الجعبري كافة المؤسسات هناك إلى المشاركة في الاجتماع الذي سيحدد لاحقاً لمتابعة التوصيات التي تمخضت عن جلسة "مفتاح".
واختتم الجلسة منسق مشروع "الشباب الفلسطيني كمدافعين عن حقوق الإنسان" في مفتاح السيد وعد قنام، مؤكداً على أهمية الدور الذي تلعبه مجموعات الشباب المدافعين عن حقوق الإنسان في كل من القدس والخليل وقطاع غزة في توثيق انتهاكات الاحتلال، وما نتج عنها من حملات ضغط ومناصرة على الصعيد الدولي، وترجمة مواقف مجموعات المدافعين عبر أوراق سياساتية تتضمن تدخلات عملية على المستوى المحلي والدولي لحماية حقوق الإنسان، وكان من ثمار هذه الجلسة تعزيز التنسيق بين المؤسسات الحقوقية المقدسية العاملة على مواجهة مخطط الاحتلال المعروف ب "مخطط مركز المدينة" في القدس، وبدء العمل أيضاً على تشكيل مجلس تنسيقي للمؤسسات الحقوقية العاملة في البلدة القديمة من الخليل تحت رعاية محافظة الخليل.
MIFTAH releases 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social and security sectors, including social justice and gender indicators
Date posted: April 04, 2023
By MIFTAH
MIFTAH recently released 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social sector (health, education, higher education and scientific research, social development and labor), and for the first time, the security sector (Ministry of Interior and National Security). The reports were based on annual financial data released by the Ministry of Finance in Palestine for 2021-2022 and on an accrual basis.
The data showed that the Ministry of Interior and National Security had the highest percentage of actual spending in 2022, accounting for 22.8% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.68 billion. This was a slight increase from the Ministry’s share in 2021. Meanwhile, actual spending on the education sector (Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research) stood at 21.5% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.48 billion. This was also an increase from the education sector’s share in 2021, which was 20.6% of public expenditures.
Moreover, actual spending on the Ministry of Health also increased in 2022, comprising 15% of overall public expenditures, at a sum of ILS2.4 billion. This was higher than in 2021, where its share was 14.4%. As for the Ministry of Social Development, actual spending was still low, amounting for 6.2% of overall public expenditures in 2022, compared to 5.8% in 2021. The Ministry of Social Development’s actual spending in 2022 was approximately ILS1 billion. As for the labor sector, actual spending on this sector in 2022 was 0.31% of overall public expenditures, while in 2021 it was 0.28%. Actual spending on the labor sector in 2022 was ILS50.1 million.
Upon review of actual spending reports of the targeted ministries from a gender and social justice perspective, it is clear that actual spending on the Ministry of Social Development does not coincide with the scope of its responsibilities as the forerunner of the social sector in Palestine, including its programs for combatting poverty and the protection of poor and marginalized social sectors. Moreover, non-compliance to the disbursement of payments for poor families within the CTP continued according to estimates, whereby only two of four installments for 2022 were disbursed, one at minimum value. This adversely affected the financial security of the most underprivileged and marginalized sectors of society, in addition to the insufficient estimated budget and actual spending on the social protection program, in spite of its importance in providing protection and social services to battered women, children, special-needs persons and the elderly.
The data also pointed to the low percentage of women working in the security sector, which stood at 6% of the total number of workers in this sector, while they comprised 46% of the civil sector. This shows a gap in actual spending on the security sector from a gender perspective, given that the lion’s share of actual spending in 2022 was on salaries and wages. Hence, women only benefited very little from these allocations, which were nearly ILS2.9 billion in 2022.
The data also indicated that the development expenditures for the Ministry of Labor were only ILS4.5 million in 2022, even though planned development expenditures were ILS32 million, which is much higher. This casts a shadow on gender-related programs and projects, which were allotted sizeable budgets within development expenditures, such as creating sustainable opportunities as alternatives for Palestinian men and women working in settlements, for which ILS10 million were earmarked.
Even though there was an increase in actual spending in 2022 at the targeted ministries in general, this increase was mainly concentrated on salaries and wages. In spite of the importance of providing a decent life for employees, there is still a need to increase spending on development expenditures, since they are at the forefront of developing government services, including the nationalization and institutionalization of various social services.
MIFTAH concludes town hall meetings on political participation and citizens’ rights for women and youth
Date posted: January 09, 2023
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – 29/12/2022 – Within its efforts to promote democratic values and the peaceful transfer of power within the Palestinian government system, MIFTAH’s field advisory team completed over 100 town hall meetings in the second half of 2022. The meetings were held in coordination and cooperation with CSOs, LGUs and grassroots organizations and targeted women and youth in several West Bank and Gaza Strip districts. The objective of these meetings was to raise awareness among the electorate on the electoral system in Palestine and on civil society demands to increase women and youth participation in local and general elections as candidates and voters, on the premise that this boosts their presence in decision-making levels and involves them in public affairs.
The town hall meetings included several exchange visits between LGU members in the various districts. The women shared the experiences and challenges they faced after becoming council members. The meetings focused on the concept of citizenship within a broader definition of the various forms of political participation and the importance of involvement from youth and women in public life. They also pointed to the different forms of democracy and the main pillars of the democratic society Palestinians seek to create. The participants furthermore discussed the various forms of electoral systems and shed light on the gaps in electoral laws regarding the presence of women and youth.
The participants pointed to the importance of periodic legislative and presidential elections and the danger of the ongoing absence of the PLC on matters pertaining to civic peace. They also warned against the absence of oversight and accountability, maintaining that the defunct PLC has contributed to shrinking civic space and public freedoms and therefore, the ability or desire to become involved in political life, especially for women and youth. In most of the meetings, the participants also indicated that the absence of a regular democratic process in Palestine contributed to the overall exclusion of youth from participation and to the marginalization of the role of women in Palestinian political decision-making.
The town hall meetings stressed on the importance of pressing for legislative, presidential and local elections in all West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip districts. They also endorsed the demand for equality in electoral laws, starting with raising the women’s quota to a minimum of 30%, raising the candidacy age and lowering the threshold. They urged Palestinian factions to assume a key role in the process of inclusion for women and youth in the public sphere and to prevent the progression of tribalism in the democratic process. The attendees emphasized the importance of monitoring the performance of LGUs in their interaction with local communities and the consistency of their meetings. Finally, they said female council members must be given the opportunity to exercise their role in their respective councils as equals to their male counterparts.
MIFTAH holds town hall meetings on an annual basis as part of its awareness campaign on citizens’ rights and the promotion of the democratic approach for a peaceful transfer of power, in addition to the involvement of women and youth in elections as both candidates and voters. Each year, through these town hall meetings, MIFTAH aims to reach the widest possible segment of the electorate and the different social sectors in all parts of Palestine.
MIFTAH completes training workshop in the Gaza Strip on family protection and advocacy
Date posted: January 05, 2023
By MIFTAH
Gaza – 2/1/2023 – MIFTAH recently completed a training workshop on measures and regulations on family protection in the Gaza Strip. The workshop was part of MIFTAH’s strategic objectives to prioritize family issues in communities and to support local institutions in increasing awareness on citizenship and constitutional rights for Palestinian women and on combatting all forms of GBV and discrimination in Palestinian society.
The workshop’s objectives included providing institutions with important information on the legislations, laws and measures for family protection in effect in the Gaza Strip, in a bid to enhance the oversight role of CSOs in holding accountable official parties responsible for enforcing these measures and legislations. The training also included offering institutions the necessary mechanisms for managing digital and media campaigns to press for the ratification of laws and legislation that protect women’s rights.
The discussions focused on a number of points, including legal (including sharia law) rebuttals to claims from parties opposing legislation, including the Family Protection Law. They also discussed how applicable this law would be in the Gaza Strip once ratified by the President.
The participants unanimously agreed that they supported adoption of the law, giving no credence to the claims of more extreme elements in Gaza on the Family Protection Law. They called on MIFTAH to hold general, open meetings with the public to introduce them to the law and its importance, so that they could defend themselves from the extremist discourse surrounding it.
Opinions and impressions
One of the participants, Latifa Shatat, said such training workshops were crucial for every Palestinian, male and female. “It is great we are pressing for protection laws such as the Family Protection Bill. This law will have tremendous impact on society as a whole. I can say from experience as a social and mental health worker that protection is the most important element in our work, especially in cases involving women and children, who are the most vulnerable social sectors. I commend MIFTAH and anyone who participates in spreading a culture of nonviolence, protection, justice and equality.”
Meanwhile, Haifa Al Araj said the training offered important details about the Family Protection Law and also ways of conducting initiatives and activities that could produce positive results in mobilizing support it.
Another participant, Hatem Abu Ta’a, said the training was a new starting point for him as an institution director in terms of integrating the demand to implement the Family Protection Law in all advocacy and lobbying activities and programs. He said he became more aware of the impediments to the law’s implementation at the official and social level, saying, “This training reminds us to renew our calls to demand implementation and ratification of the law at the official level.”
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abu Rabee said ratification of the Family Protection Law would be a huge step, for women and children especially. “This law will amplify women’s voices and their ability to access help with stronger and more supportive centers throughout the homeland. As a strong supporter of this bill, I want to stress on the importance of civil society institutions explaining the clauses in the bill pertaining to CEDAW and to also focus on working with parties that oppose the law in particular.”
The training workshop is part of MIFTAH’s “Policy dialogue and Good Governance” Program, which aims at influencing public policies and legislation in favor of protection for citizens’ rights in Palestinian society, based on the principles of social justice and respect for human rights.
