Gaza and West Bank in Focus: Rights, Responsibility and Reality
What does it mean for Palestinians and Israelis to defend human rights in Israel-Palestine today, and what responsibility do Europe and the Netherlands carry? In this event, speakers from B’Tselem and Palestinian Centre for Human Rights share what they see and document in their daily work in Gaza and on the West Bank. Centering lived experiences, the conversation explores how policies and violence shape people’s lives, and how international actors influence realities on the ground. Join us for an honest discussion on challenges, responsibility, and paths toward accountability.
Together with Hamdi Shaqura Deputy Director Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Dr. Yoav Shemer-Kunz EU Advocacy Lead B'TselemAbout the speakers
Hamdi Shaqura is a leading Palestinian human rights advocate and the Deputy Director at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza. For decades he has worked on documenting violations, promoting accountability, and supporting the development of legal and democratic institutions in Palestine. Hamdi engages widely with civil society, international organisations, and policy actors on issues of justice, protection, and the rule of law. His measured clarity and long-standing field experience make him one of the most respected voices in Palestinian human rights work.
Dr. Yoav Shemer-Kunz is a political scientist, affiliated faculty at the University of Syracuse – Strasbourg center, in charge of a course on European human rights. He obtained his PhD from the University of Strasbourg and the Free University of Amsterdam. His article, ‘Annexation, normalization and the two-state solution in Israel-Palestine’ was published in Frontiers in Political Science in April 2023. Yoav grew up in Jerusalem and lives in France.
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is a human rights organisation set up in Gaza City in 1995 to monitor and document the practices of Israeli military forces in the Gaza Strip, and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The PCHR members document human rights violations, provide legal aid and counselling, and conduct research about the human rights situation and the rule of law. Thanks to the work of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and other human right organisations the International Criminal Court ruled in 2021 that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian Territories occupied by Israel.
B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories is an Israeli non-governmental organization, based in Jerusalem, documenting and exposing violations of human rights since its foundation in 1989. B’Tselem strives to end the Israeli regime of apartheid and occupation, as that is the only way forward to a future in which human rights, democracy, liberty and equality are ensured to all people, both Palestinian and Israeli, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Learn more Palestinian Centre for Human Rights B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories