The occasion of the International Declaration on Human Rights Day comes this year at a time of repeated and daily Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people including killing, home demolition, house raids, re-occupation of towns and villages, deportation, indiscriminate detention, torture, razing agricultural land, and preventing medical teams from doing their work. These crimes affect all sectors of Palestinian society including women and children, and destroy all aspects of human life.

The international community has a responsibility today more than ever to find new mechanisms to enforce international law and ensure Israel’s adherence to it. This in itself is a challenge for the world to enforce the principles of the International Declaration on Human Rights, instead of having it ink on paper and abstract values. The future of the people of Middle East in general and that of Palestinian and Israeli children and the prospects of peace in the region and the rest of the world are at stake.

The situation in the Middle East is so volatile that is has become an urgent necessity for the forces of democracy and peace worldwide to make their voices heard in condemning Israeli violations of Palestinians’ rights. The urgency is amplified by the preparations for the expected strike against Iraq, which might lead indirectly to greater crimes against Palestinians and to inflaming feelings of anger and hatred in Arab and Muslim countries. Israel is expected to take advantage of the world’s preoccupation with Iraq to increase its aggression against the Palestinian people with crimes that might include massacres, ethnic cleansing, and occupation of Palestinian areas.

On the occasion of the International Declaration on Human Rights Day, we call upon the international community, especially the signatories of the 4th Geneva Convention, and human rights organizations to fulfill their responsibilities and urge Israel to respect international law. This is essential in order to safeguard the people of the region and the peace and security of the Middle East and the rest of the world.