Special Talk: The failures of humanitarian work in the war on Gaza

The Center for Development Studies and the Ibrahim Abu Lughod Institute for International Studies, in cooperation with the Masters in programs in Community Development and Humanitarian Work in International Conflicts, held a talk entitled “The Failures of Humanitarian Work in the War on Gaza”, on Wednesday December 20, 2023. The guest speaker was Mr. Shaowan Jabarin, Director General of the Al-Haq Foundation. The talk included participation of Birzeit University researchers and faculty and students from graduate studies programs. The talk addressed the worsening of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the use of the prevention of humanitarian aid as part of the Israeli genocide on Gaza, which raises questions about the feasibility of the work of humanitarian organizations in light of their inability to fulfill their duty and their submission to Israeli policy. The talk focused on the role played by international actors in disrupting international humanitarian law by preventing a cease-fire. The talk also addressed the extravagance of speeches and discourses of international humanitarian law without the existence of real action capable of stopping the crimes and the genocidal war in Gaza.