| Type | Non-profit NGO |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988[1] |
| Key people | Lotte Salzberger[1] |
| Area served | Israel and the Palestinian territories[1] |
| Focus | "the enforcement of the standards and values of international human rights and humanitarian law"[1] |
| Mission | "to assist Palestinians subjected to the Israeli occupation", "to introduce policy changes and implement legislative amendments that would improve the status of human rights in the Occupied Territories"[1] |
| Employees | "39 Jewish and Palestinian workers"[1] |
| Website | http://www.HaMoked.org.il/links_en.asp |
HaMoked (Hebrew:המוקד, "Center for the Defence of the Individual") an Israel based human rights organization founded by Dr. Lotte Salzberger with the stated aim of assisting "Palestinians subjected to the Israeli occupation which causes severe and ongoing violation of their rights."[1] HaMoked works for the enforcement of the standards and values of international human rights and humanitarian law.[1]
Contents |
HaMoked's aims, as registered with Israel's Registrar of Non-profit Organizations, are to: "Provide assistance to persons who have fallen victim to acts of violence, abuse or deprivation of basic rights by governmental authorities (including local government), especially those needing assistance in conveying their complaints to these authorities, and also to protect basic rights in any other manner, including application to legal instances and among them - petitions to the Supreme Court of Israel in its capacity as High Court of Justice, whether in the name of an individual who claims that his basic right was harmed and whether as a "friend of the court."[1]
As Palestinians from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem turned to HaMoked with additional issues, the organization expanded its activities to handle human rights violations in other spheres as well. These include Detainee Rights; Residency Rights and Family Unification; Freedom of Movement; Violence by security forces and settlers toward Palestinians; and Punitive House Demolition.
HaMoked also operates an Emergency Human Rights Hotline in order to attempt to offer real time solutions by working vis-a-vis relevant authorities in the field. Emergency situations include those arising from restrictions on movement within the territories; from violence; from delays in the evacuation of the injured, the sick, and women in labor; and from the blockage of humanitarian aid such as food, medicine and water.[1]
HaMoked provide case commentaries in the "Court Watch" section of their website where they present "judicial critiques of judgment rendered by the HCJ and other Courts, in light of human rights standards."[2]
In March 2010, HaMoked was one of ten human rights organizations that co-signed a letter to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.[3][4] The letter demanded a delay to the implementation of military orders, with prevention of infiltration and security provisions that, according to the NGO, authorized the Israeli army to deport Palestinian residents from the West Bank if they do not have an Israeli permit.[3] An Israeli permit is a new requirement for the majority of Palestinians in the West Bank.[3] Military Order No. 1650 is an amendment to a 1969 military law intended to deal with infiltration from neighboring Arab countries.[3] According to the NGO, a Palestinian without a permit will be classified as an "infiltrator".[3] Israeli security sources have stated that the new edict is designed to allow for judicial oversight of the expulsion of an individual under the order.[4]
According to NGO Monitor HaMoked budget in 2000-2001 equalled to $2,837,000. Major funders include: European Commission, Ford Foundation, International Commission of Jurists, New Israel Fund, British, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish Embassies in Tel Aviv, Dutch Foreign Ministry, and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.[5]