Balasan Initiative For Human Rights

The Balasan Initiative for Human Rights

Latest Updates

Strategic Encroachment: Israel’s Annexation Push into Al Khader, South of Bethlehem

In escalations of Israel’s illegal colonial expansion policies in the southern West Bank, two strategic sights have come under increasing military pressure and settlement expansion threats with the aim of pushing Israel’s annexation agenda. These two sights are Khirbet Alyah and Khirbet Abu Soda located in the town of Kl-Khader, Bethlehem. These areas are witnessing a concerted campaign of surveillance, home demolition threats, access denial to their olive tree fields, and intimidation—all aimed at displacing residents and consolidating settler control.

Latest Reports

Report and Documentary: Rights Based on IDs: Israel’s Unilateral Control of the Palestinian Population Registry on Both Sides of the Green Line & in the Diaspora

Israel’s ID-based system of control over Palestinians affects their daily lives across geographic lines. Since 1948, Israel has imposed an ID system that categorizes Palestinians, impacting residency, movement, family reunification, and citizenship. This division creates distinct classes among Palestinians—those in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and the diaspora—each facing unique restrictions that limit access to basic rights like movement, healthcare, education, and property ownership.

New Report & Short Movie: Escalating Settler Violence and Aggression in the Occupied West Bank

Long before the events of October 7th, 2023, Palestinians faced continuous waves of violence orchestrated by Israeli settlers and accompanied, or even protected, by Israeli soldiers. In 2023, this violence reached unprecedented levels, marking a record year. Following October 7th , 2023, and under the directives of Israeli government officials, settler aggression escalated, making it even more blatant and severe.

Latest Reports

New Report: Israeli Policies of Impoverishment & De-Development in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

New Report: Israeli Policies of Impoverishment & De-Development in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Impacts on Youth Emigration

Case Study of Bethlehem

LATEST UPDATES

Alarming: Israeli Demolitions Extended to Areas A and B of the Occupied West Bank

While a ceasefire agreement was reached between Hamas and Israel in Gaza yesterday, Israel is intensifying its annexation efforts in the occupied West Bank. In a deeply concerning trend, the Israeli military has extended its demolition policies to Area A of the West Bank—an area under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority according to the 1993 Oslo Accords. Such developments directly undermine Palestinian sovereignty and signal Israel's persistent, relentless and unlawful annexation objectives of the occupied West Bank.

BIHR Director Briefs the Archbishop of Canterbury on the Deterioration in the Human Rights Situation in occupied West Bank

As part of a Kairos delegation to the UK, BIHR Director, Adv. Dalia Qumsieh, met the Archbishop of Canterbury on Tuesday 10 September, in London, addressing the alarming deterioration in the situation of human rights in the occupied West Bank.

Alarming: New Israeli Military Orders Effectively Annex Vast Areas of East Bethlehem, Composing 3% of the West Bank

In an alarming move to fast-track Israel’s annexation policies in the West Bank, the Israeli army issued two military orders that effectively annex 167,000 dunams of lands of the Eastern part of the Bethlehem Governorate, classified as Area (B), and “Contractual / Agreed-Upon Reserves”, constituting around 3% of the West Bank. Combined with adjacent areas that Israel has designated as “firing Zones”, Israel has entrenched its de facto annexation from Bethlehem all the way to the Dead Sea.

The BIHR Holds a Diplomatic Briefing Regarding the Alarming Developments in Al-Makhrour Valley

The Balasan Initiative for Human Rights (BIHR) held an emergency diplomatic briefing on August 12th, 2024 to alert against the imminent threat of Israel’s annexation of Al-Makhrour Valley, part of a UNESCO world heritage site and the last green area left in the Bethlehem Governorate.

Urgent: Israeli Settlers Forcefully Evict Palestinians from their Lands in Al-Makhrour, the Last Green Area left in Bethlehem and a UNESCO World Heritage Site

On July 31st, 2024, a group of illegal Israeli settlers, accompanied by the Israeli Civil Administration, attacked and forcefully evicted the Kissieh family, a Palestinian Christian family from Beit Jala, from their land at Al-Makhrour Valley, located to the northeast of Beit Jala. The owner of the land called the Israeli police to help him confront this attack. However, when the police arrived, they arrested his son, and forced the family to vacate their land, while allowing the Israeli settlers to remain in the land, without any “legal” claims, or eviction notices issued prior to this attack.

From Palestine to South Africa: The BIHR at The Nelson Mandela Foundation

In May 2024, the Balasan Initiative for Human Rights (BIHR), represented by Dalia Qumsieh, took part in a panel discussion held at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The discussion addressed the topic ‘Christian Zionism’, highlighting the real-life implications of this theology on the lives of Palestinians.

The Balasan Initiative Holds Human Rights Advocacy Training for Palestinian Youth

The Balasan Initiative for Human Rights – Palestine, held a four-day training program titled “Enhancing the Capacity of Human Rights Defenders in Palestine” for 13 young Palestinians. Which took place from June 23 to 26 2024 in Bethlehem.

New Israeli Settlement Poses Imminent Threats on Bethlehem’s Last Remaining Green Areas

Israeli authorities have recently designated a jurisdictional order for the establishment of the Nahal Heletz settlement near Bethlehem , along with 4 other new settlements across the West Bank. This decision marks a critical and alarming development for the Palestinian territories, affecting all the suburbs of the Bethlehem area but particularly Al-Makhrour Valley and Battir, the last remaining green areas in Bethlehem as a result of Israel’s relentless settlement policy.

Judaization of Bethlehem: Archaeology in Service of Annexation "The Case of Mount Herodium"

Mount Herodium is a classic example of how Israel has not only been seeking to exert full authority over archeological sites in the West Bank but also strategically exploiting such authority to claim ownership of the lands surrounding the sites. Mount Herodium is an archaeological site, located in the Bethlehem Governorate, built 2,000 years ago. It is associated with the Roman King Herod. It served as a military base and a winter residence for the king’s wife.

Upcoming Event: Training Announcement: Empowering Youth in Human Rights Advocacy (23-26 June 2024)

The Balasan Initiative for Human Rights, in collaboration with the Heinrich Böll Foundation – Palestine and Jordan Office, is delighted to announce the opening of applications for its training program on Human Rights Advocacy. This training is part of the “Enhancing the Capacity of Human Rights Defenders in Addressing Human Rights Issues” project, aiming to enhance the capacities of the Palestinian young youth in different fields, focusing on human rights advocacy.

BIHR participates in the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference

The BIHR delivers an opening lecture in the ‘Christ at the Checkpoint Conference’ in Bethlehem on Wednesday 22 May 2024. The opening lecture “Setting the Political and Historical Context”, gave insights on the historical and political context of the long history of the Zionist Ideology and the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian lands from a Human Rights and International law lens.

BIHR Participates in Kairos Palestine's Delegation Visit to South Africa

From Kairos Palestine:

At the invitation of the South African Council of Churches, a delegation from Kairos Palestine participated in an advocacy trip to South Africa from May 4th to May 9th which included several cathedrals, churches, universities, community and cultural institutions in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria …

Sorrowful Palestinian Easter over Israel’s War on Gaza and Amid Worsening Israeli Restrictions

This year marks the convergence of the Easter and Ramadan, as Palestinians observe their religious holidays with great anguish and sorrow for Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, mounting up to an unfolding genocide. Palestinians mourn over 32,600 Palestinians killed in Gaza, 75,000 injured, 1.7 million displaced and the total destruction of the Strip, as well as the collapse of all of its vital sectors, and a looming famine …

Starvation and Sexual Assault as Tools of Warfare in Gaza

Recently, we are witnessing an alarming rise in the death tolls as a result of Israel’s starvation policy, projecting 1.1 million Palestinians to face catastrophic levels of food insecurity. In addition, new testimonies of sexual assault against Palestinian women and girls in Gaza are emerging from a significant number of witnesses and/or victims …

Further Fragmented Reality: The Impacts of the War on Gaza on the Bethlehem Governorate

When addressing the intricacies of the political situation in Palestine, it is critically reductive to consider the West Bank in isolation from the context of the Gaza Strip. Indeed, the aftermath of October 7th has ushered in an unprecedented surge in Israeli aggression against Palestinains in the West Bank…