Peaceful social organisations: Challenges of foreign occupation

While the Palestinian conflict rages on, voices of protest can be heard from peaceful social youth groups, writes Dr Ibrahim Natil.

PALESTINIAN SOCIAL ORGANISATIONS play an essential role in the national struggle, community development, relief assistance and documentation of human rights violation by different authorities since the emergence of the Palestine/Israel conflict.

These organisations have been active contributors to relief, development and the civil society empowerment process since the beginning of the conflict and the establishment of Israel over 78 per cent of historical Palestine in 1948. They have done so despite social, cultural, economic and political challenges. They have a long history of organizing themselves and leading civil social organisations. This has already made the S.O.s accommodate a new environment of operations under occupation during the various cycles of violence and conflict. Some national leaders use peaceful tools and mechanisms of engaging in community work and establishing local social services and cultural organisations to reject the Israeli occupation policy of administering their affairs. Nowadays, they operate under different umbrellas in the occupied Palestinian territory(o.P.t.) as follows:

Read the article by Ibrahim Natil on Independent Australia.