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May 2018
Help us defend Palestinians
facing extreme violence
Dear Friends, 

Adalah needs your help. Our legal team has been working around the clock in these terrible weeks of extreme violence against Palestinians engaging in political protests in Gaza, the West Bank, and in Israel. Your support is crucial for Adalah’s legal team to continue to respond to indiscriminate killings and to emergency calls to represent protesters.

Adalah is the only Palestinian legal center in Israel that defends the rights of Palestinians in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory before the Israeli courts, in close cooperation with other Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations and defenders.
The Israeli military shoots a barrage of tear gas grenades at protesters in Gaza. (Photo by Mati Milstein)
Palestinians in Gaza have been demonstrating since 30 March in a series of weekly protests known as “The Great March of Return”, demanding the right of return for the Palestinian refugees and an end to the closure. To date, at least 117 people have been killed in Gaza - including 13 children - and over 13,000 others wounded.
During this emergency period, Adalah has worked intensively with Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights in Gaza to:
  • Secure passage to the West Bank for wounded protesters. We succeeded in court to get permission for Yousef al Kronz, a young Palestinian shot by Israeli snipers during the 30 March protest, to leave Gaza for urgent medical treatment that saved one of his legs. The Israeli Supreme Court’s decision in this case opened the door for others to receive critical medical treatment.
Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher (left) visits Yousef al Kronz in hospital in Ramallah (Photo by Mati Milstein)
  • Challenge the Israeli military’s use of lethal force in a Supreme Court petition demanding that the army stop using snipers and live ammunition to disperse the unarmed Gaza protesters. 94% of the fatally wounded were shot in the head and upper body. Nevertheless, in direct contradiction of United Nations bodies and the positions of international human rights organizations, the court rejected the petition and gave a green light to the Israeli military's continued use of live fire against Palestinian protesters in Gaza.
  • Document the indiscriminate killings of Gaza protesters and urge the UN to open an independent investigation into the Israeli military’s illegal actions. We simultaneously called on the EU and the U.S. Congress to support such an inquiry. On 18 May 2018, Adalah participated in the UN Human Rights Council, which voted to establish a commission of inquiry.
Demonstrations have been held around the world against the Gaza killings. In Haifa on 18 May, Israeli police employed extreme violence against peaceful protestors, mostly Palestinian citizens of Israel, and arrested 21. 
Palestinian citizens of Israel protesting in Haifa. (Photo by Nadine Nashef)
Israeli police violently arrest a protester in Haifa. (Photo by Nadine Nashef)
In response, Adalah:
  • Convened an emergency meeting of volunteer lawyers to formulate a collective legal strategy to secure the immediate release of all the detained protesters.
(Photo by Fathiyya Hussein)
  • Provided legal representation to all the detainees, together with volunteer attorneys and the Human Rights Defenders’ Fund. Following a nine-hour overnight hearing, the court released all the detainees.
Adalah General Director Hassan Jabareen (center) in Haifa court. (Photo by Marwan Abu Frieh)
Protester Ali Muwasi is embraced by family following his release from detention. (Photo by Maria Zahran)
  • Filed police brutality complaints on behalf of protesters, including Mossawa Center Director Jafar Farah, whom Adalah represented in court. Farah was hospitalized after he was beaten by police, who broke his knee while he was in detention. Six other protesters were also hospitalized, and others were deprived of medical care by police.
Adalah needs your donation to help our lawyers defend Palestinians in court and to challenge the impunity enjoyed by Israeli military and police forces.
CLICK HERE to donate directly to Adalah via credit card or PayPal.

To make a tax-deductible donation in the U.S., visit Adalah's projects page on Global Giving.

The Adalah team thanks you for your generosity!
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Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel · 94 Yaffa Street · PO Box 8921 · Haifa 31090 · Israel