Your Excellency Secretary General
Mr, Antonio Guterres,

On the 22nd anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325 and the annual open discussion at the Security Council for the advancement of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, the Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition for the Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 would like to bring your attention to the fact that the suffering of Palestinian women living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) has unprecedentedly escalated since this resolution was passed, due to the Israeli occupation’s ongoing, hostile policies, systematic violations of human rights and grave breaches of international humanitarian law that are disproportionally impacting women and girls in the OPT. These violations include extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, restriction on movement, military blockades, house demolitions, land confiscation and illegal de-facto and de-juri annexation, in addition to the ongoing isolation of areas of the OPT from one another. This has had both individual and collective impact on the lives of women, impeding their access to resources, compounded by the deteriorating economic situation due to the occupation’s control and dominance over land and resources. Added to this is the rise in poverty levels due to unemployment, military blockade on the Gaza Strip for over 15 years and the occupation’s exercise of systematic long-term violence against the Palestinian protected population in the OPT, settlement expansion combined with settlers’ violence and vandalism

The Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition strongly believes that 22 years since the passage of UNSC Resolution 1325 has not resulted in concrete measures for the advancement of the women, peace and security agenda to Palestinian women living under Israeli prolonged military occupation. A lot still need yet to be made by the Security Council to maintain peace and security for Palestinian women living under military occupation. To the contrary, complications and challenges to Palestinian women have increased in terms of implementing the WPS agenda, due to Israeli impediments to its implementation. Israel, the occupying power, has also placed enormous obstacles before Palestinian women who seek to implement this resolution, given its continued occupation of the OPT and the absence of a just and durable solution to end this prolonged belligerent occupation. No concrete measures were taken by the international community to implement UN resolutions related to the question of Palestine, namely UN Resolutions 242, 338, 194 and 2334. Instead, Israel is intent on confiscating and annexing more land to build settlements, which has severed any path to the establishment of an independent and contiguous Palestinian state. Instead, OPT has been transformed into isolated islands more like the Bantustans of apartheid South Africa, as indicated in the most recent evidence based-report by Amnesty International, describing Israel as an apartheid regime, where one racial group is discriminating against other racial groups.

The Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition, would also like to point out to the remarkable conclusions of a UN independent Commission of Inquiry (CoI) in its recent to the UN General Assembly in New York on 20/10/2022, which considered the Israeli occupation as unlawful according to international law. The report called on the UN General Assembly to ask the International Court of Justice for an urgent advisory opinion on the illegality of this prolonged military occupation, and the impacts of the Israeli illegal measures and violations against the Palestinian civilian population in the 1967 OPT.

Your Excellency UN Secretary General,

As the UNSC is meeting to discuss the advancement of the WPS agenda, we would like to draw to their attention the double standards employed by the United Nations in dealing with its own resolutions, especially when it comes to Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the practices of Israel, the occupying power against Palestinian civilian population. Israeli illegal policies in the OPT , has not only curtailed Resolution 1325 from guaranteeing protection for women and involving her in security and peacemaking, it has also thwarted all international tools and mechanisms for the protection of civilians in times of war and under occupation. This is due to the failure of the international human rights and humanitarian law especially the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protections of Civilians at time of War and under occupation. The reason for this is that the UN itself is discriminatory and has double standards in its handling conflicts, and peoples’ causes due to the huge imbalance in justice and the policy of impunity, which Israeli, the occupying power enjoys. These policies have allowed Israel to escape from accountability or any punitive measures in accordance to UN Charter and more specifically Article 11 of UNSC Resolution 1325, which demands that perpetrators of crimes and violations during war are not afforded impunity. The fact that Israel is treated as a country above the law, and the absence of any form of accountability has only encouraged it to commit more crimes and violations. A case in point is the recent murdering of Palestinian Journalist Shirine Abu Akleh, where no one has been held accountable thus far, although the incident was caught on tape and there is hard evidence proving that her death was the result of premeditated and extrajudicial killing by the Israeli army.

During its evaluation and review of its action plan, the Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition noted that Resolution 1325 and the nine subsequent resolutions, pinpointed the reasons for the outbreak and development of conflicts in various regions of the world to racial, religious and ethnic disputes. However, it excluded women under racist, colonialist occupation, which is the case of Palestinian women under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including occupied East Jerusalem. Thus, it has disregarded all international resolutions pertaining to the rights of the Palestinian people, over and above Israel’s disregard for its responsibilities as an occupying power. This necessitates a special resolution addressing the status of Palestinian women under racist, colonialist occupation, and addressing the root causes of the suffering of Palestinian women and the major obstacle they face in meaningful political participation, and in moving forward in the advancement of the women, peace and security agenda.

Mr. Secretary General,

Finally, we in the Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition for the implementation of Resolution 1325, thank your Excellency for your understanding, and for conveying our concerns to all nation states during the open debate on WPS in the Security Council this year. We call on you to dedicate ample attention to the status of Palestinian women during the 22nd Security Council meeting on Resolution 1325, with the objective to develop and push forth the WPS agenda and put into action the role of international tools of accountability. We ask you to provide the necessary protection for Palestinian women under occupation, by closely overseeing the implementation of this resolution and the party responsible for impeding its application on the ground, namely, the Israeli occupying power that has exacerbated the suffering of Palestinian women at all levels and increased discriminatory measures against them.

With our sincere thanks and appreciation,
The Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition for the Implementation of UNSCR1325

Mr. President, Esteemed Members of the Security Council,

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to address you today, especially thankful to H.E. Ambassador Macharia Kamau, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary and the Republic of Kenya for the kind invitation.

For over 70 years, the UN and its various bodies have been seized of the Palestine question; repeatedly reviewing conditions, adopting resolutions, and dispatching fact-finding missions, to no avail. Sadly, this Council has been unable to assert authority, allowing this injustice to become a perpetual tragic human, moral, political and legal travesty.

So it would be disingenuous of me to come before you assuming I could inform you of something you do not already know. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the opportunity to communicate in a candid manner, not to recite endless statistics, nor to reiterate the ongoing pain of a people, deprived of their basic rights, including even the right to speak out, admonished not to “whine” or “complain,” as a means of silencing the victim.

The tragedy is that you know all of this; yet, it has had a minimal impact, if any, on the horrific conditions in Occupied Palestine.

I imagine it must be disheartening and frustrating for this distinguished organization and its members to find themselves trapped in this cycle of deliberate disdain and futility.

It is therefore imperative that this Council consider where it has gone wrong and what it can do to correct course and serve the cause of justice and peace.

Undoubtedly, the absence of accountability for Israel and of protection for the Palestinian people has enabled Israeli impunity to ride roughshod over the rights of an entire nation, allowing for perpetuation of a permanent settler-colonial occupation.

Mr. President,

Much of the prevailing political discourse overlooks reality and is diverted and subsumed by chimeras and distractions proffered by Israel and its allies under such banners as “economic peace,” “improving the quality of life,” “normalization,” “managing the conflict,” “containing the conflict,” or “shrinking the conflict.”

These fallacies must be dismantled. Volatile situations of injustice and oppression do not shrink. They expand and explode, with disastrous consequences. Similarly, the delusion of “imposing calm” under siege and systemic aggression, particularly as in Gaza, is an oxymoron, for calm or security on the one hand and occupation or captivity on the other are antithetical and irreconcilable.

Likewise, the fallacy of “confidence-building measures” is misguided since occupation breeds only contempt, distrust, resentment, and resistance. The oppressed cannot be brought to trust or accept handouts from their oppressor as an alternative to their right to freedom and justice.

The misleading and flawed “both sides” argument calling for “balance” in a flagrantly unbalanced situation is another attempt at obfuscation and generating misconceptions.

Israel’s impunity is further enhanced using such excuses as being the so-called “only democracy in the Middle East” or a “strategic ally,” or having “shared values,” or even for the sake of protecting its “fragile coalition.”

There has also been tacit and, at times overt, acceptance of Israel’s ideological, absolutist arguments, including the invocation of religious texts as a means to dismiss and supplant contemporary political and legal discourse and action. Hence, the so-called “Jewish State Law,” which allocates the right to self-determination exclusively to Jews in all of historic Palestine, is endorsed and normalized.

In the meantime, a massive disinformation machine persists in its racist maligning and demonizing of the Palestinian people, going so far as to label them “terrorists,” or a “demographic threat,” a dehumanizing formula exploited as a way to deny the right of millions of Palestine refugees to return.

Such slander has warped political focus and discourse globally. Some states have gone off on a tangent pursuing Palestinian textbooks for so-called “incitement,” or adopting the IHRA definition that conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism, or criminalizing BDS, or intimidating and censoring academics and solidarity activists who stand up for Palestinian rights.

These distortions ignore the unequal and unjust laws designed to persecute Palestinians, individually and collectively. It is evidenced in the defamation of our political prisoners and the targeting of their families’ livelihoods, as though Israeli military courts or prison systems have anything to do with justice or legality.

The mindless refrain that Israel has the “right to defend itself,” while the Palestinian people are denied such a right, is perverse in that the occupier’s violence is justified as “self-defense” while the occupied are stigmatized as “terrorists.”

We cannot afford to disregard the context of occupation and its systemic aggression as the framing device for all critical assessments and action.

Excellencies,

Occupied Palestine, including Jerusalem, is the target of a comprehensive and pervasive policy of colonization and erasure, of displacement and replacement, in which Israel is appropriating everything Palestinian; our land and resources; our cultural and human heritage; our archeological sites, which we have safeguarded for centuries; our history; our cuisine; the names of our streets; and most egregiously the identity of Jerusalem, as we witness in the ethnic cleansing of the Old City, Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan among others. Even our cemeteries have been desecrated such as the building of a so-called “museum of tolerance” on top of human remains in Maman’ Allah cemetery. And, Israel continues to stoke the flames of a “holy war,” with repeated assaults on our holy sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Jerusalem is being targeted in a deliberate campaign of annexation and distortion. Israel now brazenly declares its intent to complete the settlement siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the territorial contiguity of the West Bank, with its outrageous plans for E-1, Qalandiya airport (Atarot), “Pisgat Ze’ev” and “Giv’at HaMatos.”

We cannot be distracted by symbolic gestures that create a false impression of progress. Claims that the “time is not right,” or that it is “difficult now” to work for a peaceful solution, give license to Israel to persist in its perilous policies. Likewise, repeating a verbal commitment to the two-State solution, while one state is allowed to deliberately destroy the other, rings hollow.

Mr. President,

All of this does not preclude our recognition of our own shortcomings. We do not shirk our responsibility to speak out against internal violence, human rights abuses, corruption, or other such practices that are rejected and resented by our own people. It is our responsibility to carry out democratic reform and revitalize our body politic while ending our internal divisions. This is a Palestinian imperative.

But we must caution others against exploiting our shortcomings to justify Israeli crimes or international inaction, or to condition any positive engagement on the creation of an ideal system of governance in Palestine while we languish under a lawless system of Israeli control.

We ask that you, trustees of the rules-based order, uphold your responsibilities: provide us with protection from aggression and empower our people to amplify their voice, both in governance and liberation.

Esteemed Members of the Council,

Peace is not achieved by “normalizing the occupation,” sidelining the Palestine Question, or rewarding Israel by repositioning it as a regional superpower. Such an approach maintains the causes of regional instability and insecurity, while enabling Israel as a colonial apartheid State to superimpose “Greater Israel” on all of historic Palestine.

Generation after generation, the people of Palestine have remained committed to the justice of their cause, the integrity of their narrative, the authenticity of their history and culture, and their inviolable right to live in freedom, and dignity, as an equal among nations and in the fullness of our humanity.

It is time to reclaim the narrative of justice and invoke our collective will to activate the UN Charter and affirm the relevance of international law.

The time has come for courageous and determined action, not just to undo the injustice of the past but to chart a clear and binding course for a peaceful future of hope and redemption.

I thank you.

To view the full Speech as PDF

We, the undersigned global coalition of leaders –from civil society to academia, art, media, business, politics, indigenous and faith communities, and people of conscience around the world– call upon the States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to act decisively to put an end to Israel’s notorious use of arms and military equipment for the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights against Palestinian civilians by immediately imposing a comprehensive two-way arms embargo on Israel.

In the spring of 2021, the world once again watched in horror as Israeli occupying forces attacked defenceless Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and inside Israel. Palestinian civilians peacefully protesting against colonisation of their land were assaulted with live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs, tear gas and skunk water. Israel’s deadly military aggression against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip was the fourth in a decade. Over 11 days, 248 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children. Thousands were wounded, and the reverberating effects of the use of explosive weapons on hospitals, schools, food security, water, electricity and shelter continue to affect millions.

This systematic brutality, perpetrated throughout the past seven decades of Israel’s colonialism, apartheid, pro-longed illegal belligerent occupation, persecution, and closure, is only possible because of the complicity of some governments and corporations around the world.

Symbolic statements of condemnation alone will not put an end to this suffering. In accordance with the relevant rules of the ATT, States Parties have legal obligations to put an end to irresponsible and often complicit trade of conventional arms that undermines international peace and security, facilitates commission of egregious crimes, and threatens the international legal order.

Under Article 6(3) of the ATT, States Parties undertook not to authorise any transfer of conventional arms if they have knowledge at the time of authorisation that arms or items would be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva conventions of 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes as defined by international agreements to which they are a Party.

Under Articles 7 and 11, they undertook not to authorise any export of conventional arms, munitions, parts and components that would, inter alia, undermine peace and security or be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

It is clear that arms exports to Israel are inconsistent with these obligations. Invariably, Israel has shown that it uses arms to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, as documented by countless United Nations bodies and civil society organisations worldwide. Military exports to Israel also clearly enabled, facilitated and maintained Israel’s decades-long settler-colonial and apartheid regime imposed over the Palestinian people as a whole.

Similarly, arms imports from Israel are wholly inconsistent with obligations under the ATT. Israeli military and industry sources openly boast that their weapons and technologies are “combat proven” – in other words, field-tested on Palestinian civilians “human test subjects”. When States import Israeli arms, they are encouraging it to keep bombing Palestinian civilians and persist in its unlawful practices. No one –neither Israel, nor arms manufacturers in ATT States parties– should be allowed to profit from the killing or maiming of Palestinian civilians.

It is thus abundantly clear that imposing a two-way arms embargo on Israel is both a legal and a moral obligation. ATT States Parties must immediately terminate any current, and prohibit any future transfers of conventional arms, munitions, parts and components referred to in Article 2(1), Article 3 or Article 4 of the ATT to Israel, until it ends its illegal belligerent occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory and complies fully with its obligations under international law. Pending such an embargo, all States must immediately suspend all transfers of military equipment, assistance and munitions to Israel.

A failure to take these actions entails a heavy responsibility for the grave suffering of civilians – more deaths, more suffering, as thousands of Palestinian men, women and children continue to bear the brutality of a colonial belligerent occupying force– which would result in discrediting the ATT itself. It also renders States parties complicit in internationally wrongful acts through the aiding or abetting of international crimes.  A failure in taking action could also result in invoking the individual criminal responsibility of individuals of these States for aiding and abetting the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity in accordance with Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Justice will remain elusive so long as Israel’s unlawful occupation, settler-colonialism, apartheid regime, and persecution and institutionalised oppression of the Palestinian people are allowed to continue, and so long as States continue to be complicit in the occupying Power’s crimes by trading weapons with it.

In conclusion, we believe that the ATT can make a difference in the Palestinian civilians’ lives. It has the potential, if implemented in good faith, to spare countless protected persons from suffering. If our call to stop leaving the Palestinian people behind when it comes to implementation of the ATT is ignored, the raison d'être of the ATT will be shattered.

Joining organisations:

1. Action Sécurité Ethique Républicaines
2. Adalah Justice Project
3. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
4. AFPS 63
5. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
6. Aldameer Association for Human Rights
7. Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Man
8. Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society
9. American Muslims for Palestine
10. Anglican Pacifist Fellowship
11. Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ)
12. Arab Canadian Lawyers Association
13. Arab Organization for Human Rights
14. Argenteuil Solidarité Palestine
15. Asociación Americana de Juristas
16. Association Belgo-Palestinienne WB
17. Association femmes plurielles
18. Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)
19. AssoPacePalestina
20. Australia Palestine Advocacy Network
21. Australian Centre for International Justice
22. Australians For Palestine
23. Badayl
24. BDS Australia
25. Begian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
26. Campagne BDS France
27. Canadian BDS Coalition
28. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
29. Center for Constitutional Rights
30. Center for International Policy
31. Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios Estratégicos para la Seguridad y el Desarrollo Social CIESED A.C.
32. CNAPD - Coordination Nationale d'Action pour la Paix et la Démocratie
33. Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine
34. Collectif 69 de Soutien au Peuple Palestinien
35. Collectif BDS 57
36. Collectif Judéo Arabe et Citoyen pour la Palestine
37. Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines
38. Columban missionaries Britain
39. Columbia Law Students for Palestine
40. Combatants for Peace
41. Comitato BDS Campania
42. Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe
43. Comité pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient asbl
44. Community Action Center - Al-Quds University
45. Confederación Intersindical Gallega (CIG)
46. Cultura è Libertà, una campagna per la Palestina
47. Dagropass
48. De Palestijnse gemeenschap in Nederland
49. Defense for Children -Palestine (DCI-Palestine)
50. Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
51. docP - BDS Netherlands
52. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
53. European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP)
54. European Legal Support Center
55. Femmes Unies pour la Paix dans la région des Grands Lacs
56. FILEF Sydney Federation of Italian Migrant Workers
57. Finnish-Arab Friendship Society
58. Friends of Palestine Tasmania Inc
59. Gaza Action Ireland
60. Gesellschaft Schweiz Palästina GSP/ASP
61. Global Kairos Asia Pacific Solidarity For Palestine (GKAPS)
62. Good Shepherd Collective
63. Housing and Land Rights Network
64. Human Rights and Democratic Participation Center “SHAMS”
65. Human Rights Network Nigeria
66. ICAHD Finland
67. ICAHD UK
68. Independent Jewish Voices Canada
69. Indian Writers Forum
70. Indo Palestine Solidarity Forum
71. International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD)
72. International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
73. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
74. Jewish Voice For Peace
75. Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
76. Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste
77. Karapatan
78. Kenya Human Rights Commission
79. Labor for Palestine
80. Manushya Foundation
81. National Association of Democratic Lawyers (South Africa)
82. National Justice & Peace Network (NJPN)
83. National Lawyers Guild, Palestine Subcommittee
84. Nederlands Palestina Komitee
85. Newweapons research group
86. Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine-Israel (NMJPI)
87. North Notts Unite Community
88. NOVACT
89. Oakville Palestinian Rights Association
90. Palestine Solidarity Network - Edmonton
91. Palestinian and Jewish Unity
92. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
93. Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall)
94. Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO)
95. Pax Christi International
96. Pax Christi, England and Wales
97. Paz con Dignidad
98. Platform of French NGOs for Palestine
99. Salaam ragazzi dell'Olivo, comitato di Trieste
100. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
101. SODePAZ
102. Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative
103. The Civic Coalition for Palestinians Right in Jérusalem
104. The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
105. The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC)
106. The National Association of Human Rights Defenders
107. The Oakville Palestinian Rights Association
108. The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC)
109. The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy-MIFTAH
110. UJFP French Jewish union for peace
111. Union syndicale Solidaires
112. US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
113. US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
114. Visualizing Palestine
115. Vrede vzw
116. Vredesactie
117. War on Want
118. Women for Palestine
119. Women in Black Vienna
120. Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling

Joining individuals:

121. Ahmed Ben
122. Ahmed Reda Tolba
123. Alaa Shalaby
124. Alaaeddine Tatak
125. Aline Shaban
126. Amin Abbas
127. Andrea Balduzzi
128. Angie Mindel
129. Ann McNicholas
130. Anne Peacey
131. Ashley Tellis
132. Atamjit Singh
133. Audrey J Bomse
134. Badee M.T. Aldwaik
135. Baruti Likoyi
136. Bernadette McPhe
137. Chirag Shah
138. Claudia Karas
139. Claudia Schiavelli
140. Denise Peillon
141. Denotter JJ
142. Devaki Khanna
143. Dr. Ibrahim Lada’a
144. Dr. Nerina Cecchin
145. Egbert Harmsen
146. Marc Fayard
147. Firoz Ahmad
148. Flavia Lepre
149. Françoise Abadie
150. Frstot Marie-Paule
151. Gabriel Mondragón Toledo
152. Geeta Kapur
153. Geeta Kapur
154. Georges Franco
155. Gillard Francois
156. Gina Cardosi
157. Githa Hariharan
158. Gregory Kotoy
159. Gyan Prakash
160. Haidi Ali Muhammad Eltayeb
161. Hélène Le Cacheux
162. Herman De Ley
163. Huwaida Arraf
164. Ian Ampleford
165. Ian Mc Cabe
166. Indu Chandrasekhar
167. Jake Javanshir
168. James Dickins
169. James Lafferty
170. John King
171. Joop Hoekstra
172. Julia Auf Dem Brinke
173. Julie Hart
174. Kalyani Chaudhuri
175. Karel Arnaut
176. Karin Brothers
177. Karin Verelst
178. Kathryn Kelly
179. Kellie Tranter
180. Lauren Speiser
181. Laurent De Wangen
182. Lee Rhiannon
183. Luisa Morgantini
184. M.N. Harakeh
185. Madeline Lutjeharms
186. Maha Abdallah
187. Maha Alami
188. Malini Bhattacharya
189. Mani Shankar Aiyar
190. Marcy Newman
191. Maria Bartolacci
192. Marjorie Cohn
193. Martin Mavenjina
194. Massimiliano Masini
195. Maxime Florentin
196. Maya Devi
197. Michael Letwin
198. Michel Gevers
199. Mohamad Arouki
200. Mohamed Aboelazm
201. Mohammad Al Nabulsi
202. Mohan Rao
203. Monique Vincent
204. Muralidharan K
205. Nalini Nayak
206. Nandini Sundar
207. Naresh Dadhich
208. Nasir Tyabji
209. Navdeep Mathur
210. Nick Deane
211. Nozomi Takahashi
212. Oishik Sircar
213. P A Azeez
214. Pamela Blakelock
215. Pamela Philipose
216. Paola Manduca
217. Patrick Lechopier
218. Persis Ginwalla
219. Pierre Bordone
220. Pushpa Achanta
221. Pushpamala N
222. Raffaele Spiga
223. Rajni Palriwala
224. Rev Joseph Ryan
225. Rey Asis
226. Rudolf Knutti
227. S. Raghunandana
228. Salim Yusufji
229. Sellin Jean-Christophe
230. Shafey Kidwai
231. Sharib Aqleem Ali
232. Sigour Brigitte
233. Sonia Fayman
234. Stephen Flaherty
235. Sue Ingham
236. Sumanta Banerjee
237. Terri Ginsberg
238. Valter Mutt
239. Vinay Bharadwaj
240. Vincent Basabé
241. Winfried Belz
242. Yousuf Saeed
243. YVes Goaer
244. Yves Jardin

To View the Letter as PDF

As a Palestinian organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights and international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Al-Haq is extremely concerned about the constant escalation of Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, which are exacting a heavy toll on the civilian population, in particular amongst children. The Israeli air strikes conducted in the last three days against highly populated areas of the Gaza Strip have killed at least 33 people, including 14 civilians, seven of them children, and injured 86 people, including 46 children. These attacks, when coupled with recent statements by Israeli officials clearly indicate a policy of unrestrained violence towards the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. In a notable example, on 20 January, Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter stated that unlawful rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups must be “stopped completely irrespective of the cost to the Palestinians.”

The use of unrestrained force against a civilian population in response to the unlawful rocket attacks carried out by Palestinian armed groups is a blatant violation of the laws of war, enshrined in customary international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. Many of the recent Israeli attacks constitute war crimes which may amount to grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, for which individuals can be held criminally responsible. Grave breaches are the most serious infringements of the laws and customs of war and are listed in Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention as including wilful killings, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, and extensive destruction of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly. All States have criminal jurisdiction to try those accused of grave breaches, whatever their nationality, or wherever the crimes were committed, by virtue of the principle of universal jurisdiction.

On 27 February an Israeli air strike hit a street in the vicinity of Salam mosques in Jabalia killing five civilians, amongst whom there were four children aged between 7 and 14, and injuring seven people, three of them critically. On the same day around 10:00 pm, three missiles targeted a central area of Gaza City, where the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, an UNRWA school and an 11-storey residential building are located. In the attack a five-month old child was killed, 22 apartments were rendered inhabitable and a clinic was severely damaged. On 28 February Israeli air forces attacked a main street in Jabalia killing two children, aged 12 and 13, and injuring at least another three civilians.

In order for the above killings and injuries to constitute grave breaches both a material and mental element must be satisfied. The material element of the crimes is the death and injury of civilians, who are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the extensive damage to civilian property. The mental element of the crime, namely the intent to commit the acts leading to the material element is also present. Despite statements by Israeli political leaders and military officers claiming that potential harm to civilians is taken into account during the planning and execution of military operations, the choice of targeted areas, methods of attack and the number of civilians killed and injured, clearly indicate a reckless disregard for civilian life, synonymous with intent. The wilful disregard by those who executed and sanctioned the attacks described above, of the foreseeable impact on civilians is evident in Israeli Defence Minister Barak’s recent blanket statement: "Israel will not refrain from taking any course of action in order to bring a stop to the fire against Sderot."

While the laws of war do allow that civilian life may be lost as an incidental result of military action, this is only the case where such military action distinguishes between military and civilian targets, is proportionate and causes the least foreseeable harm. These conditions cannot be found in the cases reported above.

Those who planned, ordered and executed the attacks described above are individually criminally responsible and should be made the subject of prosecution as required under Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The blanket impunity for civilian deaths that military officers and political leaders enjoy in Israel, as recently proved by the rejection of any legal action in regard to the killing of 21 civilians in Beit Hanoun in November 2006, requires that these crimes be prosecuted in other jurisdictions. Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention establishes that the High Contracting Parties have the legal obligation of searching for those who have allegedly committed grave breaches and of bringing them before their courts to face trial.

Some High Contracting Parties, in particular member States of the European Union, have enacted the necessary legislation implementing the principle of universal jurisdiction over grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. No excuse can therefore justify their inaction in view of the unlawful wilful killing of civilians in the OPT.

In light of the cost in human life that Israel’s most recent military escalation in the Gaza Strip is imposing on the civilian population, Al-Haq urges the High Contracting Parties to take immediate action and to fulfil their legal obligations under common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions and Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, in particular to adopt the necessary measures, including searching for and prosecuting those responsible for grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and to ensure that Israel as the Occupying Power respects its legal obligations under international humanitarian law.

As a Palestinian NGO committed to the protection and promotion of human rights and international humanitarian law, Al-Haq is deeply concerned by the recent military attacks carried out by the Israeli occupying forces in the Gaza Strip. These attacks, including ground incursions and air strikes, have displayed an excessive and often indiscriminate use of force in crowded residential areas, putting civilians at severe risk of harm and in violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.

Between 15 and 18 January 2008, at least 39 people were killed in the Gaza Strip, including three children and three women, and at least another 127 have been wounded. Since the beginning of 2008, Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip have caused the death of at least 72 people, including six children and eight women, and have injured at least another 208, amongst those were 34 children and 13 women. During the same period, the Israeli authorities estimate that some 130 home-made rockets were fired towards Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Recent statements by Israeli officials clearly indicate that further escalation of the raids to the Gaza Strip is planned. Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter recently declared “[t]hese [rocket] attacks need not be minimised or managed, but stopped completely irrespective of the cost to the Palestinians” [emphasis added]. Statements such as this, when coupled with the brief overview of the Israeli occupying forces recent attacks in the Gaza Strip provided below, which have resulted in numerous civilians being killed and wounded, demonstrate a marked disregard by the Israeli authorities for the lives of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip.

15 – 18 January 2008: Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip

On Tuesday, 15 January 2008, Israeli occupying forces, including 13 tanks, two bulldozers and several aircraft, carried out an incursion in the Zaitoun area to the east of Gaza City. The incursion resulted in the death of 17 Palestinians, of whom at least five were civilians, and the injury of at least another 30, five of whom were critically wounded. The attack, which started at 8:15 and ended at approximately 13:00, also affected the area adjacent to the “Tunis” high school where a student was killed and several people were injured. Disturbingly, the area near the school was shelled by tanks a second time after a crowd had gathered to provide assistance to the victims of the initial attack.

On Wednesday, 16 January 2008, Israeli aircraft carried out numerous attacks in the Gaza Strip, targeting cars carrying alleged members of Palestinian armed groups. One of these operations killed three civilians, including a 5-year-old child, when their car, travelling in the Al-Daraj area in the east of Gaza City, was hit by a missile. According to official statements issued by the Israeli military authority the car was hit by mistake. On the same day two alleged members of Palestinian armed groups were killed in a similar strike.

On Thursday, 17 January 2008, at approximately 13:45, an Israeli missile hit a car being driven by an alleged member of an armed group, who was killed along with a 34-year-old woman. Three bystanders were severely wounded. Later that afternoon, another car containing three alleged members of armed groups was hit by a missile, causing the death of all passengers. The same day, at 19:40 in Beit Lahia, a donkey-drawn cart was hit by an Israeli air strike. In the incident, three civilians, namely a woman and two children, were killed, while two more children were wounded.

On Friday, 18 January 2008 at approximately 15:40, an Israeli F-16 fighter jet launched an attack against a building which formerly hosted the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior, located in the south-east of Gaza City. As a result of the attack, the building was completely destroyed. Three civilians, namely a woman and two young men, were killed, and at least 45 others were severely wounded, as at the time of the attack a wedding party was taking place nearby.

All of the above attacks have the distressing common denominator of having been carried out in densely populated urban areas, in apparent disregard for the increased risk of harming civilians.

Distinction and Proportionality

In carrying out the operations described above, the Israeli occupying forces clearly failed, once again, to respect the basic principles of distinction and proportionality enshrined in international humanitarian law.

Under conventional and customary international humanitarian law, civilians are persons who are not members of the armed forces and as such they are protected against attack, unless and during such time as they take direct part in hostilities. Similarly, Parties to a conflict “shall at all times distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives.” Indiscriminate attacks, including bombardment by any method which treats as a single military objective a number of separate military objectives located in an urban area containing a similar concentration of civilians and civilian objects, are strictly prohibited. Additionally, the Parties to a conflict must take all feasible precautions in their choice of means and methods of warfare in order to avoid and minimise incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects.

This prohibition on attacking civilians and civilian objects, known as the principle of distinction, should be read in conjunction with the principle of proportionality. The International Committee of the Red Cross, in its authoritative study on customary international humanitarian law, has held this principle to dictate that launching an attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury of civilians and damage of civilian objects, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated, is prohibited. When conducting hostilities in an urban area, the combating parties hold an increased duty of diligence in order to ensure the application of the rules of international humanitarian law, and in particular to spare civilians from the effects of the hostilities.

Israel’s widespread use of heavy artillery, tanks and F-16 fighter jets against civilian populated centres in the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas on earth, results in flagrant breaches of the principles of distinction and proportionality, and is therefore unlawful under international humanitarian law. The cost of the Israeli occupying forces’ disregard for these principles is being paid by the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. These civilians, who are entitled to the protection provided under international humanitarian law as a population under belligerent occupation, are instead being subjected to unrelenting attack.

Regrettably, these recent attacks are not an isolated example of the occupying forces’ practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Military raids in urban areas, resulting in similar injury and killing of civilians, have been a sadly recurrent feature of the Israel’s 40-year long occupation of the OPT. Israel’s persistence in launching attacks in densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip is evidence of Israel’s complete disregard for the protection of the civilian population and the rules of international humanitarian law.

In disregarding the principles of distinction and proportionality, the Israeli occupying forces carrying out and the political leaders sanctioning attacks such as those described above, have committed grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which constitute war crimes entailing individual criminal responsibility for the perpetrators. The High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions hold the responsibility to bring before their courts those responsible for such breaches, as established under Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Further, during his recent meeting with the Dutch Foreign Minister, Maxime Verhagen, the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, asserted that the relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip serve, in part, the purpose of “signalling to the population in Gaza that it cannot be free from responsibility to the situation.” This contrasts starkly with Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits collective punishment and further holds that “[…] all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.” The continuous military operations against the densely populated Gaza Strip have sown a state of terror amongst the civilian population, who are already suffering the dire humanitarian consequences of Israel’s ongoing blockade and economic sanctions.

In light of Israel’s consistent failure to adhere to international humanitarian law as described above, Al-Haq is extremely disturbed by the escalation of the attacks on the Gaza Strip. Statements given by Israeli officials in this regard, such as Minister of Defence Ehud Barak, who explained that “[w]e increased, and will increase, the pressure,” clearly indicate that the recent increase in attacks will escalate further.

In light of the above, Al-Haq urges:

Israel to immediately cease indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, consistent with their obligations under international humanitarian law.

The High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to fulfil their obligation under common Article 1 to ensure respect for the provisions of the Conventions, taking appropriate measures to compel Israel to abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular placing pivotal importance on the respect and protection of civilians from the effects of the hostilities.

The High Contracting Parties to fulfil their legal obligation under Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention to prosecute those responsible for grave breaches of the Convention.

EU institutions and member states to make effective use of the European Union Guidelines on promoting compliance with international humanitarian law (2005/C 327/04) to ensure Israel complies with international humanitarian law under paragraph 16 (b), (c) and (d) of these guidelines, including the adoption of immediate restrictive measures and sanctions.

The UN Human Rights Council, at its Sixth Special Session currently being held in Geneva, to recommend that the General Assembly invoke GA Resolution 377, Uniting For Peace, to reconvene the 10th Emergency Special Session under agenda item five (Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory).

The UN Security Council to end its inaction by adopting concrete measures, including the imposition of sanctions, in order to ensure Israel’s fulfilment of its obligations under international humanitarian law.

- Ends -

On Sunday 20 January 2008, Israel’s ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip, including the blocking of fuel supplies, forced Gaza’s only power plant to shut down, plunging over 800,000 Palestinians into darkness. According to the General-Director of the plant, the shortage of electricity caused by the lack of fuel will affect the provision of medical care and water and sanitation services. On Sunday morning, the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, which normally operates 130 wells as well as sewage treatment plants, stated that if the fuel supply is not restored by Tuesday, these services will cease to function throughout the Gaza Strip. Since Friday 18 January, Israel has also closed all Gaza’s border crossings and blocked all humanitarian aid, except in exceptional circumstances. With some 80 percent of Gaza’s population requiring food aid, the impact of these measures will be catastrophic. This escalation has also been accompanied by an intensifying of Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip in the first 19 days of 2008, costing the lives of 69 Palestinians, including four children and eight women, and the injury of over 190.

Israel’s current policy in relation to the Gaza Strip and its 1.5 million inhabitants constitutes an unmitigated violation of international humanitarian law including, but not limited to, Israel’s obligation as an Occupying Power to, at a minimum, ensure the basic needs of the population under its effective control, and the prohibitions on collective punishment, coercion and unlawful reprisals.

Israel’s current policy and recent actions have shown a casual disregard for the lives and dignity of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, treating their suffering and the violation of their fundamental rights as little more than an inconvenience that will earn gentle reprimand from the international community and Palestinian National Authority, but will otherwise be irrelevant. With the intolerable conditions and constant state of fear that the Gazan population is now forced to live under, it is time for this position to change. Israel must not be allowed to shield itself from the implementation of its international legal obligations, nor should the international community shy away from enforcing such implementation. Inarticulate fears of disrupting a “peace process” that exists only in vague declarations and diplomatic handshakes, that treats the Gaza Strip as separate from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Palestinians as a divided people, cannot be an excuse for allowing the continued siege of the Gaza Strip. In fact, if any “peace process” is to succeed, the conclusion reached must embody a sense of justice. This requires, as an unavoidable starting point, that the fundamental rights of all parties be recognised and protected.

Al-Haq therefore calls upon,

• Israel to immediately cease all military operations in the Gaza Strip and to end its policy of collective punishment, including the opening of border crossings to allow the movement of goods and people, and restoring the supply of fuel and humanitarian aid.

• the Palestinian Liberation Organisation to establish Israel’s obligations under international law in respect of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, including ending the collective punishment and ensuring access to essential medical services, food and water and sanitation, as an integral part of any negotiations.

• regional organisations and individual states to take concrete measures, including economic and diplomatic sanctions, to ensure Israel’s compliance with international law.

• all international agencies, including the UN, present in the OPT to actively draw the attention of international decision makers to the impact of Israeli policies on the Palestinian civilian population of the Gaza Strip.

• the UN Secretary-General immediately bring the situation in the Gaza Strip to the attention of the Security Council.

• concerned individuals and civil society groups to raise Israel’s violations of international law with elected officials in their home counties.

• Palestinian armed groups to immediately cease the launching of rockets targeting civilian population centres in Israel.

- Ends –

United Nations Special Rapporteur for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Mr. Martin Scheinin, will present his mission report following his July 2007 visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, 12 December 2007.

In the report, the Special Rapporteur finds serious incompatibilities between Israel’s counter-terrorism laws and practices and Israel’s international human rights obligations. Among his conclusions and recommendations are the following:

• “…not all acts of violence committed against an occupying power, particularly when violence is targeted at military forces of an occupying power, amount to acts of terrorism.” [para. 3]
• “All legislation, regulations and military orders must comply with the requirements of the principle of legality…Having achieved those requirements, the enactment by the Knesset of this new [counter-terrorism] legislation should be accompanied by a repeal or revocation of all current counter-terrorism legislation, regulations and military orders.” [para. 55]
• “[The incompatibilities of Israeli law and practice include those related to] the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; the right to life and humanitarian law principles concerning legitimate targeting; the right to liberty and fair trial; and the severe impact of the construction of the barrier in the West Bank and associated measures on the enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights and freedoms in the OPT.” [para.54]
• “Given the illegality under international law of the existence and continued development of Jewish settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Special Rapporteur recommends that a decision be made immediately to withdraw all such settlements…” [para. 59]
• “To replace the still unfinished barrier, extending deep into Palestinian territory, with a security infrastructure that…respects the Green Line or is otherwise accepted by the Palestinians.” [para. 59]

The Special Rapporteur’s oral presentation related to his Israel/OPT mission report will be broadcast live via the Human Rights Council’s webcast between 9:00 -10:00 am (GMT +1) on 12 December
(http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/index.asp).

The Special Rapporteur’s full report is available in the following formats:
English only - http://daccess-ods.un.org/TMP/3354845.html
English with Arabic Executive Summary - http://daccess-ods.un.org/TMP/7750390.html