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href="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</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Israel’s Designation of the Democratic
Progressive Student Pole an “Unlawful Association” Is Another
Manifestation of its Apartheid Regime</h1>
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<div class="reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">December 8, 2020<br>
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<p><span><span>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”. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>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. <sup>[1]</sup>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.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>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. <sup>[2]</sup>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.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>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.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>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,<sup>[3]</sup>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.<sup>[4]</sup>Many
of Birzeit’s students have also been subject to
torture and ill-treatment.<sup>[5]</sup>In 2020, the
IOF detained three female students with one of the
charges being participation and affiliation with the
DPSP. <sup>[6]</sup>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. <sup>[7]</sup></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>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. <sup>[8]</sup>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).</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>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.” <sup>[9]</sup></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>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.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>[1] Noura Erakat, Justice for Some: Law and
The Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press
2019) 59.<br>
[2] Rome Statute, article 7 (2)(h)</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>[3] See: Al-Haq, “IOF and Undercover Agents
Detain Birzeit University Student using Fire Arms in
Broad Day Light” (19 March 2018) available at: <a
href="https://www.alhaq.org/monitoring-documentation/6256.html">https://www.alhaq.org/monitoring-documentation/6256.html</a></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>[4] Birzeit University, “Statement about
the Israeli occupation's arrest of Birzeit
University students, faculty members” (23 January
2020) available at: <a
href="https://www.birzeit.edu/en/news/statement-about-israeli-occupations-arrest-birzeit-university-students-faculty-members">https://www.birzeit.edu/en/news/statement-about-israeli-occupations-arre...</a></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>[5] ibid</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>[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: <a
href="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/</a><br>
[7] DPSP Facebook Page, available at: <a
href="https://www.facebook.com/372675913525991/posts/793071984819713/?extid=0&d=n">https://www.facebook.com/372675913525991/posts/793071984819713/?extid=0&d=n</a><br>
[8] Article 56, Hague Regulations (1907).<br>
[9] As of the Democratic Progressive Student Pole’s
aim on their Facebook page. available at: <a
href="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</a></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>Endorsed by: </strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>Palestinian Human Rights
Organizations Council members</strong><strong><span
dir="RTL">:</span></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>Al Haq Organization - Law in
the Service of Mankind</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>Al Mezan Center for Human
Rights</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>ADDAMEER Prisoner Support and
Human Rights Association</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>DCI - Defense for Children
International – Palestine</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human
Rights Center </strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>Aldameer Association for
Human Rights</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>Ramallah Center for Human
Rights Studies</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>Hurryyat – Center for Defense
of Liberties and Civil Rights</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>The Independent Commission
for Human Rights (Ombudsman Office) - Observer
Member</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- <strong>Muwatin Institute for
Democracy and Human Rights - Observer Member</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong><span dir="LTR">The Palestinian
Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO)</span></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong><span dir="LTR">The Palestinian
Federation of Unions of University Professors
and Employees (PFUUPE)</span></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>Women's Studies Centre</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>The Women’s Centre for Legal Aid
and Counselling (WCLAC)</strong></span></span></p>
<span><span><strong><span dir="LTR">Palestinian National
Institute for NGOs</span></strong></span></span>
<p><span><span><strong>Human Rights & Democracy Media
Center (SHAMS)</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>The Civic Coalition for Palestinian
Rights in Jerusalem</strong></span></span></p>
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