Dear friends,

At this difficult moment, I wanted to share a brief update about how HaMoked has been managing during the ongoing emergency. Like everyone in the region, our staff are navigating constant uncertainty — alarms, disrupted routines, and the emotional strain of the war. Yet even under these conditions, HaMoked continues to provide legal assistance and reliable information to the Palestinian communities we serve, ensuring that even in moments of profound instability, people still have somewhere to turn for help.

Immediately following the outbreak of war, HaMoked activated its emergency contingency plan. Staff members who are able to work are doing so remotely, and we remain fully reachable by phone. We continue to receive complaints from beneficiaries and are handling most cases, depending on the operational status of the relevant authorities.

Detainee tracing continues at full pace. We are currently processing between 100–200 tracing requests each day, providing families — often desperate for even the smallest piece of information — with confirmation of where their loved ones are being held. At the same time, the disruption of work in government offices is affecting other aspects of our work. Non-urgent prison visits have been suspended, and both the courts and the Knesset are operating in emergency mode, holding only urgent hearings and discussions. As a result, much of our ongoing litigation and legislative monitoring is temporarily on hold.

Movement restrictions have also tightened significantly, leaving many Palestinians uncertain whether they will be able to reach their workplaces, their land, or their families. Most Seam Zone checkpoints have been fully closed — including to business owners — while others are only partially operating, primarily for residents of the zone. Access to East Jerusalem and movement within the West Bank are also restricted.

On the ground, the human impact of these restrictions is increasingly visible across Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This year’s Ramadan — normally a time of prayer and family gatherings — has unfolded under heavy limitations and deep uncertainty. Access to Jerusalem for worship has been sharply restricted, movement between communities has become unpredictable, and many families are coping with economic hardship and anxiety about detained relatives.

Against this backdrop, our newly released 2025 Annual Report provides a fuller picture of how our team responded to the growing pressures facing the communities we serve. 2025 was one of the busiest years in HaMoked’s history. Over the course of the year, we handled 29,137 tracing requests — four times our usual caseload and more than in either 2023 or 2024. For tens of thousands of families, HaMoked became the only way to obtain basic information about detained relatives.

At the same time, we continued to fight rights violations across the occupied territories. We challenged sweeping restrictions on Palestinian movement and access to land in the West Bank, including a wartime ban that prevented tens of thousands of farmers from reaching their agricultural lands in the Seam Zone. We also represented 250 Palestinians contesting travel bans that prevented them from leaving the West Bank.

In East Jerusalem, HaMoked helped 313 residents defend their residency rights amid growing efforts to revoke their status, helping families deal with the bureaucratic violence involved in the simple act of registering their child and partner. Our lawyers have also petitioned against new legislation enabling residency revocation as a form of collective punishment.

Our work this past year underscores how vulnerable human rights can become in times of war. At such moments, our role is to hold the line, ensuring that the rule of law and basic human rights are not pushed aside, even under the most difficult circumstances.

Continuing this work requires persistence, expertise, and resources. If you are able, we invite you to support HaMoked’s work with a donation. Your contribution helps ensure that even during times of war, human rights are not sidelined.

Thank you for your continued solidarity and support.

Tal Steiner,
Executive Director