[News] Israel’s Designation of the Democratic Progressive Student Pole an “Unlawful Association” Is Another Manifestation of its Apartheid Regime

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://www.addameer.org/news/israel%E2%80%99s-designation-democratic-progressive-student-pole-%E2%80%9Cunlawful-association%E2%80%9D-another 
<http://www.addameer.org/news/israel%E2%80%99s-designation-democratic-progressive-student-pole-%E2%80%9Cunlawful-association%E2%80%9D-another> 



  Israel’s Designation of the Democratic Progressive Student Pole an
  “Unlawful Association” Is Another Manifestation of its Apartheid Regime

December 8, 2020
------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 21 October 2020, the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) officially 
declared the Democratic Progressive Student Pole (DPSP), the leftist 
bloc at Birzeit University, an “unlawful association”.

The designation of the Pole as an unlawful organisation was issued 
under the Defence (Emergency) Regulations 1945, which were inherited by 
Israel following the end of British Mandatory rule in 1948. The 
Regulations, employed by Israel to control the Palestinian population, 
were initially used to target Palestinian citizens of Israel until 
martial law was lifted in 1996. ^[1] Similarly, the Regulations have 
been consistently and systematically used to suppress and silence 
opposition to Israeli practices and policies in the Occupied Palestinian 
Territory (OPT), including the occupation of the OPT, and the 
construction and maintenance of an institutionalised regime of racial 
domination and oppression, amounting to apartheid.

The intention of maintaining the apartheid regime is a core element of 
the definition of the crime of apartheid under the Rome Statute of the 
International Criminal Court. ^[2] Israel spearheads a protracted 
campaign of silencing, intimidation, smears, and de-legitimisation in 
pursuit of this goal, imposed through various policies including mass 
arbitrary detention, systematic torture, and other forms of 
ill-treatment against individuals or groups seeking to challenge its 
apartheid regime.

The targeting of the DPSP and its designation as ‘terrorist’ represents 
an attack by Israel on the right of Palestinian youth to freedom of 
association, expression, and to form student unions. The effort to 
delegitimise the Pole’s work comes in a broader context of continued and 
increased attacks on various voices that expose and challenge Israel’s 
systematic violations, including the voices of human rights defenders 
and voices from academic institutions, international organisations, and 
Palestinian civil society groups.

Palestinian youth and students have been persistently and systematically 
targeted as part of Israel’s protracted silencing campaign. In 
particular, students at Birzeit University have been subject to 
systematic attacks, raids on their campus,^[3] arbitrary detention, and 
torture and ill-treatment, all of which serve Israel’s ultimate goal of 
maintaining its apartheid regime over the Palestinian people. During the 
2019-2020 academic year at Birzeit University, the IOF have detained 
around 74 students.^[4] Many of Birzeit’s students have also been 
subject to torture and ill-treatment.^[5] In 2020, the IOF detained 
three female students with one of the charges being participation and 
affiliation with the DPSP. ^[6] On 25 October 2020, the DPSP launched a 
campaign on their Facebook page with the hashtag ‘Student Suspended’, 
which highlights the stories of more than 40 student detainees and 
prisoners from Birzeit University currently in Israeli prisons. ^[7]

The IOF’s systematic raids and harassment and arrest of Birzeit’s 
students are in violation of Israel’s obligation as an Occupying Power 
to protect educational institutions. ^[8] In addition, the IOF’s 
continuous attacks against Palestinian universities and students 
directly impedes on the latter’s right to education, as provided for in 
Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 13 
of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
(ICESR).

Student unions, in their role representing the voices of youth,are 
essential elements of a democratic society. In Palestinian society 
specifically, youth and student unions have contributed to the 
mobilisation of popular resistance and transnational solidarity against 
Israel’s apartheid regime and towards social change. The Democratic 
Progressive Student Pole has a leading role with their aim to “form a 
democratic progressive student awareness in order to rebuild and unify 
the student movement so that it fulfils its union, political, cultural 
and social role at the university and national levels…against all forms 
of domination, class exploitation, and national, gender or religious 
oppression.” ^[9]

Al-Haq strongly condemns Israel’s efforts to delegitimise and silence 
the voices of youth and student unions, in addition to all other attacks 
against voices that challenge its systematic and widespread attacks on 
the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights. As such, we call on the 
international community to fulfil their obligations under international 
law by immediately refraining from directly or indirectly contributing 
to or recognising the unlawful situation in Palestine and the domination 
and oppression of the Palestinian people. Third States must cooperate to 
bring the illegal situation to end including through international 
mechanisms such as the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights 
Council, or by implementing effective sanctions against Israel until the 
inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are fulfilled and respected.

[1] Noura Erakat, Justice for Some: Law and The Question of Palestine 
(Stanford University Press 2019) 59.
[2] Rome Statute, article 7 (2)(h)

[3] See: Al-Haq, “IOF and Undercover Agents Detain Birzeit University 
Student using Fire Arms in Broad Day Light” (19 March 2018) available 
at: https://www.alhaq.org/monitoring-documentation/6256.html 
<https://www.alhaq.org/monitoring-documentation/6256.html>

[4] Birzeit University, “Statement about the Israeli occupation's arrest 
of Birzeit University students, faculty members” (23 January 2020) 
available at: 
https://www.birzeit.edu/en/news/statement-about-israeli-occupations-arre... 
<https://www.birzeit.edu/en/news/statement-about-israeli-occupations-arrest-birzeit-university-students-faculty-members>

[5] ibid

[6] Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, “LPHR and Addameer complaint 
to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on the ongoing Israeli 
military detention of three female Palestinian students from Birzeit 
University” (2 October 2020) available at: 
https://lphr.org.uk/latest-news/lphr-and-addameer-complaint-to-the-un-working-group-on-arbitrary-detention-on-the-ongoing-israeli-military-detention-of-three-female-palestinian-students-from-birzeit-university/ 
<https://lphr.org.uk/latest-news/lphr-and-addameer-complaint-to-the-un-working-group-on-arbitrary-detention-on-the-ongoing-israeli-military-detention-of-three-female-palestinian-students-from-birzeit-university/>
[7] DPSP Facebook Page, available at: 
https://www.facebook.com/372675913525991/posts/793071984819713/?extid=0&d=n 
<https://www.facebook.com/372675913525991/posts/793071984819713/?extid=0&d=n>
[8] Article 56, Hague Regulations (1907).
[9] As of the Democratic Progressive Student Pole’s aim on their 
Facebook page. available at: 
https://www.facebook.com/pg/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%85%D9%8A-372675913525991/about/?ref=page_internal 
<https://www.facebook.com/pg/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%85%D9%8A-372675913525991/about/?ref=page_internal>

*Endorsed by: *

*Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council members**:*

- *Al Haq Organization - Law in the Service of Mankind*

- *Al Mezan Center for Human Rights*

- *ADDAMEER Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association*

- *Palestinian Centre for Human Rights*

- *DCI - Defense for Children International – Palestine*

- *Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center *

- *Aldameer Association for Human Rights*

- *Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies*

- *Hurryyat – Center for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights*

- *The Independent Commission for Human Rights (Ombudsman Office) - 
Observer Member*

- *Muwatin Institute for Democracy and Human Rights - Observer Member*

*The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO)*

*The Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and 
Employees (PFUUPE)*

*Women's Studies Centre*

*The Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)*

*Palestinian National Institute for NGOs*

*Human Rights & Democracy Media Center (SHAMS)*

*The Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem*

-- 
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