Human Rights Watch Israel-Palestine Director resigns over blocked report
Report, originally scheduled for December 4 publication and approved during internal review, concluded that denying Palestinians' right of return constituted crimes against humanity
BRUSSELS (MNTV) – The Israel-Palestine director of Human Rights Watch has stepped down after more than a decade with the organization, citing concerns over editorial integrity following the blocking of a report on Palestinian refugee rights.
Omar Shakir’s resignation, dated January 15, came after Executive Director Philippe Bolopion—who assumed leadership late last year—halted publication of a report that examined Israel’s policies regarding Palestinian refugees’ right of return.
According to Shakir’s resignation letter, the shelved report analyzed the destruction of refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, alongside Israeli government actions against UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.
The research explored connections between the 1948 Nakba—when 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes by Zionist forces and the newly formed Israeli state—and current displacement patterns.
The report, originally scheduled for December 4 publication and approved during internal review, concluded that denying Palestinians’ right of return constituted crimes against humanity.
However, Shakir was informed that Bolopion feared the report might be misinterpreted as advocating for demographic changes to Israel’s Jewish character.
In his letter, Shakir expressed that he had “lost faith in the integrity” of HRW’s work and its commitment to principled reporting.
Human Rights Watch confirmed receiving two resignations from staff working on Israel-Palestine issues following the decision to pause the report’s release.
The organization stated that the report “raised complex and consequential issues” and that certain research aspects and legal conclusions required strengthening to meet its standards. The review process remains ongoing.
During his tenure, Shakir documented rights violations in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, including research on Israeli apartheid policies. Israel deported him in 2019 due to his advocacy work.
In late 2024, HRW published findings accusing Israeli authorities of deliberately creating conditions intended to destroy part of Gaza’s population through water deprivation, calling this extermination and acts of genocide.
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