The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO) warns the international community, along with human rights and humanitarian institutions, of the grave consequences of the blatant assault against the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) this morning. This follows the simultaneous incursion by Israeli occupation forces into the institution's headquarters in Al-Bireh and Hebron, accompanied by a media crew, constituting a flagrant violation of international law and the protection granted to developmental and humanitarian institutions.

This new assault is not an isolated incident. It comes within the context of the occupation's ongoing policy of persistently targeting Palestinian civil society institutions and their workers, aiming to destroy the Palestinian people's economy, resources, and capacity for resilience. During the recent aggression on the Gaza Strip, dozens of developmental and humanitarian civil society headquarters were completely or partially destroyed, and over 500 humanitarian workers were martyred while performing their humanitarian duty, constituting a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.

The Union of Agricultural Work Committees is a longstanding Palestinian developmental institution that has worked for decades serving farmers and rural communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, contributing to strengthening the resilience of the Palestinian people through agricultural development and food security programs.

PNGO strongly condemns this assault targeting a licensed Palestinian Authority developmental civil society institution. Its headquarters, which were raided and looted, are located in what is designated as Area (A), supposedly under Palestinian Authority control, but which is violated daily by the occupation forces.

PNGO Demands:

1. Diplomatic and international missions to urgently intervene to stop the targeting of Palestinian civil institutions, and to pressure the occupation authorities to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
2. The United Nations and international organizations to take practical and immediate measures to protect Palestinian developmental institutions and their workers, and to establish an international monitoring mechanism to track and document Israeli violations against civil society institutions.
3. The international community and the International Criminal Court to hold the occupation authorities accountable for their crimes against humanitarian institutions and their workers, and to hold them fully responsible for the safety of the UAWC staff, the institution's property, and all Palestinian institutions.
4. Donor countries and international institutions to enhance their support and protection for Palestinian civil society institutions, which constitute the first line of defense for the rights of the Palestinian people and play a vital role in providing humanitarian and developmental services.
5. Activists worldwide to escalate their pressure on governments to impose sanctions and divestment, and to work towards providing international protection for the Palestinian people and ending the occupation.

PNGO affirms that targeting Palestinian developmental institutions disrupts their humanitarian, developmental, and relief work, and negatively affects the lives of thousands of Palestinians they serve, especially under the difficult conditions our people live under occupation. However, this will not break the will and determination of civil society to play its leading role in serving Palestine, its people, and their steadfastness.

Protecting Palestinian civil society institutions is an international responsibility requiring immediate and serious action.