On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People The International Commission (ICSPR) The Ongoing International Failure to Address Israeli Genocidal Crimes Puts the Principles of Human Solidarity into Question

Date: November 27, 2024

Press Release

On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

The International Commission (ICSPR): The Ongoing International Failure to Address Israeli Genocidal Crimes Puts the Principles of Human Solidarity into Question

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) extends its greetings to the Palestinian people and all freedom-loving individuals around the world, as well as to human rights and humanitarian advocates, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which will be observed on Friday, November 29, 2024.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an annual reminder of the suffering endured by the Palestinian people due to the ongoing Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories. Israeli occupation forces continue their genocidal crimes, ethnic cleansing, racial discrimination, and violations of civil, political, economic, and social rights of Palestinians in all their areas of presence.

This year’s observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People coincides with the continuation of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, now on its 419th day. This genocide has led to the martyrdom and injury of more than 6% of the population. Over 60,000 Palestinians, including 70% women and children, have been martyred or are missing, in addition to 105,000 injured. More than 23,000 Palestinians have been arrested in Gaza and the West Bank, subjected to torture, sexual abuse, and denial of rights.

The genocidal war and the use of various weapons have resulted in the complete or partial destruction of 380,000 housing units. Furthermore, 85% of public and private property, as well as Gaza’s infrastructure, have been destroyed, with the aim of rendering the area uninhabitable. This includes the deliberate destruction of health facilities, leaving 34 hospitals out of service, damaging 160 healthcare institutions, and destroying 131 ambulances. Additionally, 365 schools and universities have been damaged, 80% of agricultural land and economic institutions have been destroyed, and cultural sites and historical landmarks have been targeted.

Throughout this genocidal war, mass killing through various weapons is not the only method of destruction. Hunger and siege have also contributed to this catastrophe, with over 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million suffering from severe food insecurity and famine. Thousands have died due to hunger and chronic diseases, and a quarter of the population is experiencing “catastrophic levels of hunger.” Over 5,000 people have died from famine and diseases, with 71,338 cases of hepatitis spreading due to displacement, lack of services, and inadequate humanitarian aid.

Israeli occupation forces continue to target civilians in the West Bank, raiding Palestinian cities and camps, resulting in the martyrdom of 750 Palestinians and injuries to nearly 6,500 others. Arbitrary arrests, land confiscation, settlement expansion, and the Judaization of Jerusalem continue unabated, with Israeli militia groups attacking citizens and announcing plans to annex settler blocs in preparation for the annexation of the West Bank, without its population.

Israeli occupation forces continue to commit war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, deliberately targeting civilians with killing, injury, forced displacement, and showing no regard for the general or specific protection of civilians, especially children, women, and civilian infrastructure. This reflects the extreme level of state terrorism and disregard for international law. The ongoing acts of collective punishment are in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, regarding the protection of civilians during wartime. Furthermore, the Israeli assault on Gaza aims to break the will of the Palestinian people, preventing them from continuing their rightful struggle for national rights and self-determination.

Since solidarity with the Palestinian people is solidarity with humanity, justice, and the principles and provisions of international law, it also represents solidarity with the justice that the Palestinian people seek, in order to live under the shadow of their recognized rights, which have been affirmed by United Nations General Assembly resolutions and acknowledged by many countries, except for the Israeli occupation and its ally, the United States, which continue to deny the Palestinian people’s rights and support the occupation’s power and protection.

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (Hashd) expresses its solidarity with the families of the martyrs, salutes the Palestinian people everywhere, especially in Gaza, and welcomes the ongoing international solidarity movement against genocidal crimes, and protests against the injustices perpetrated under the guise of law. The Commission affirms that the international community and the United Nations bear historical responsibility for the Palestinian cause and the gross violations perpetrated by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people. It calls for serious efforts to unite international efforts to halt the Israeli aggression, initiate a process of accountability for Israeli leaders and soldiers for their crimes before the International Criminal Court using the principle of universal jurisdiction, and work urgently to end the occupation and address the long-standing humanitarian crisis, restoring rights to their rightful owners.

The International Commission (ICSPR) calls for:

• ICSPR: Affirms the urgent need to open humanitarian corridors, allow the entry of fuel, life-saving equipment, and civil defense teams to remove the bodies of martyrs from beneath the rubble, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip, especially the approximately 1.7 million displaced persons living in catastrophic conditions. The majority of these displaced people are living in UNRWA schools, while others are in government schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, or with relatives and friends.
• ICSPR: Appreciates all positions opposing the Israeli genocide, war crimes, and terrorism, particularly the recent public stances that supported the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber to issue arrest warrants against Israeli political and military officials.
• ICSPR: Reaffirms its warning about the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza due to the continued lack of humanitarian aid, the closure of crossings, and the imposition of a suffocating siege affecting every aspect of the lives and rights of the people. The destruction of essential infrastructure, including electricity, water, and communication services, has led to a humanitarian catastrophe amidst ongoing starvation, thirst, and the devastation of the population, compounded by the spread of diseases and environmental health risks.
• ICSPR: Views the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People as a renewed opportunity to highlight the suffering of Palestinians and draw the world’s attention to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe caused by Israeli occupation crimes. This day should serve as an occasion to strengthen efforts to stop the aggression and support the struggle for the restoration of Palestinian rights, primarily the right to self-determination, national sovereignty, and the right of return for refugees to their homes from which they were displaced in 1948.
• ICSPR: Urges all justice and human rights advocates worldwide to organize various solidarity actions to transform this day into a global uprising for action and solidarity, calling on the free world’s governments to compel Israel to end its genocide, ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, racial discrimination, and persecution of the Palestinian people.
• ICSPR: Calls for the joint efforts of the free world’s nations, peoples, institutions, unions, and political movements to pressure for the implementation of United Nations resolutions related to Palestinian rights, and to confront the American support for Israeli occupation and the European double standards on Palestinian rights.
• ICSPR: Demands the declaration of Gaza as a disaster and famine zone and the provision of all necessary health, humanitarian, and relief aid to the sector and the victims of Israeli occupation crimes. It also urges the swift creation of a Palestinian strategy based on restoring national unity, considering it a national and moral duty that must be prioritized by all Palestinians. This includes the call to implement the Bicker Agreement, Cairo Reconciliation Agreements, and to convene a meeting of the General Secretaries to form a collective national leadership until comprehensive elections are held, ensuring the activation and unification of all political system institutions, particularly the Palestine Liberation Organization.
• ICSPR: Calls for all countries to cease all forms of relations and cooperation with the Israeli occupation and expel it from the United Nations as a racist entity that violates international human rights standards and relevant international legitimacy resolutions related to the Palestinian cause until it respects human rights and the rights of the Palestinian people and ends the prolonged occupation.

• ICSPR: Calls on the free nations of the world, peoples, political and popular movements, civil society organizations, and human rights groups to assume their legal and moral responsibilities both individually and collectively, and to take practical actions, escalating diplomatic, legal, and grassroots movements that lead to the end of Israeli aggression, war crimes, and genocide against civilians, especially children, women, journalists, medical teams, and humanitarian service providers. It demands the protection of the principles and provisions of international humanitarian law and the laws of war, ensuring that a future international reconstruction program will end the occupation and achieve the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, while taking all international binding measures to end the occupation and provide international protection for the Palestinian people.