Legality of Restrictions on the Freedoms of Expression, Assembly, and Association in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

In the wake of the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and the launch of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Israeli authorities have tightened their grip on the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

This latest clampdown on civil and political rights in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) occurs in an already constricted civic space, shaped by more than five decades of military occupation and an accumulation of restrictive measures imposed by consecutive Israeli governments.

Excessive restrictions on the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly constitute a threat not only to the individual and collective pursuit by Palestinians of self-expression and self-determination; these restrictions also undermine efforts to monitor and report on other potential violations of international law being committed in the oPt, including international humanitarian law (IHL).

This publication examines the legality of restrictive measures applied by Israel in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, that limit the exercise of the freedoms of expression, association, and assembly in light of Israel’s obligations under the law of occupation and international human rights law (IHRL). 

COVER PHOTO: Wahaj Bani Moufleh/ActiveStills Photo Collective (Nur Shams Refugee Camp, West Bank, 20 October 2023). All Rights Reserved.