Palestinian NGO Network: The Storming of the Agricultural Work Union and the Theft of Its Properties and Offices is a Colonial Piracy Targeting Palestinian Civil Society

SadaNews - The Palestinian NGO Network warns the international and humanitarian community and human rights organizations of the dire consequences of the blatant assault that the Agricultural Work Union faced this morning after Israeli occupation forces stormed the institution's headquarters in Al-Bireh and Hebron simultaneously along with a press crew, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and the protection granted to development and humanitarian institutions.

This new assault is not an isolated incident; rather, it comes in the context of the ongoing pattern of occupation targeting Palestinian civil institutions and their workers with the aim of destroying the economy, resources, and resilience of the Palestinian people. During the recent aggression on the Gaza Strip, dozens of headquarters of development and humanitarian civil institutions were completely or partially destroyed, and more than 500 employees and workers in the humanitarian field were martyred while performing their humanitarian duties, which constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.

The Agricultural Work Union is a longstanding Palestinian developmental institution that has been serving farmers and rural communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for decades, contributing to enhancing the resilience of the Palestinian people through agricultural development and food security programs.

The Palestinian NGO Network strongly condemns this assault targeting a civil developmental institution licensed by the Palestinian Authority and its headquarters, which were stormed and robbed, located in the so-called Area A that is supposed to be under the control of the Palestinian Authority but is regularly violated by the occupation army.

The network demands:
1. Diplomatic missions and international bodies to urgently intervene to stop the targeting of Palestinian civil institutions, and to pressure the occupying authorities to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

2. The United Nations and international organizations to take practical and immediate measures to protect Palestinian developmental institutions and their workers, and to form an international monitoring mechanism to record and document the Israeli violations against civil institutions.

3. The international community and the International Criminal Court to hold the occupying authorities accountable for their crimes against humanitarian institutions and their workers, and to hold them fully responsible for the safety of the Agricultural Work Union's crews, its properties, and all Palestinian institutions.

4. Donor countries and international institutions to enhance their support and protection for Palestinian civil institutions that form the first line of defense for the rights of the Palestinian people and play a vital role in providing humanitarian and developmental services.

5. Activists around the world to escalate their pressures on governments to impose sanctions and withdraw investments and to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and end the occupation.

It affirms that targeting Palestinian developmental institutions disrupts their humanitarian, developmental, and relief efforts, and negatively affects the lives of thousands of Palestinians they serve, especially under the difficult conditions that our people live under occupation; however, it will not break the will and determination of civil society to play its pioneering role in serving Palestine and its people and their resilience.
The protection of Palestinian civil institutions is an international responsibility that requires immediate and serious action.