Al Mezan Center for Human Rights held an awareness-raising session for farmers at Al Quds Society for Developing Al Mawasi in Khan Younis. 16 male and nine female farmers participated in the session.

Ms. Noha Abu Thareefa, a lawyer at Al Mezan and a member of its Training and Mass Communications Unit, welcomed the attendees and the introduced the subject material.

Mr. Yahya Muharib, lawyer at Al Mezan, presented on international humanitarian law (IHL) and the protection of civilians in armed conflict—primarily, the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.  Mr. Muharib discussed with attendees the common breaches of the laws of war that farmers are subjected to, focusing on the access-restricted areas.

At the end of the session, Mr. Muharib enumerated the Israeli forces’ obligations towards the population in Gaza in terms of accountability and access to justice, including as involves UN mechanisms. He finally shared information about Al Mezan’s work in monitoring and documenting violations and providing legal to victims.

The session was a part of Al Mezan’s project, “Enhancing International Humanitarian Law in the Gaza Strip”, supported by Diakonia.