Since its foundation, Israel has built a state in the land of Palestine that has used terror as a tool, systematically displacing the indigenous population from their land through planned ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, and mass killings. After 1967, it expanded its occupation across all of Palestine, deepening its colonial presence. Israel has been responsible for countless civilian massacres and has continued to systematically violate human rights and humanitarian law in Palestinian territories, particularly in Gaza, Jerusalem, and the West Bank since its foundation. Israel, having institutionalized its occupation of Palestinian territories, is attempting to subjugate Palestinians on their own land by deepening its colonial occupation policies through military pressure, racist practices, and demographic engineering.
Israel, making yet attack to its list of attacks since 7 October 2023, is targeting all civilians without discrimination, the elderly and women alike. The attacks involve the use of prohibited weapons. Hospitals, ambulances, places of worship, schools, offices belonging to United Nations (UN) and aid agencies, camps housing forcibly displaced persons, press offices, and civilian residential areas —all of which are off-limits even during wartime, a principle whose violation is considered a war crime— have been bombed repeatedly despite international condemnation, and Gaza's civilian infrastructure has been almost completely destroyed. Furthermore, Gaza population's access to food, water, and medicine has been systematically blocked, resulting many Palestinians dying from starvation. As of this day, more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel and more than 151,000 have been injured.
In the light of this brutality, it is clear that Israel's latest decision to occupy the entire Gaza Strip will further exacerbate the ongoing human rights violations in the Palestinian territories.
Israel's plan to completely occupy Gaza, as a perpetrator of genocide, is not only a regional crisis but also signifies the failure of universal human rights values and collective security mechanisms. On 26 January, 28 March, and 24 May 2024, the International Court of Justice issued provisional measures against the State of Israel, ordering the acts of genocide to be ceased immediately. Additionally, the International Criminal Court unanimously decided to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.
Despite these rulings, neither the UN nor the international community has taken any steps to enforce them. In the face of this grave reality, the UN has limited itself to releasing weak and ineffective statements, making the dysfunction of collective security mechanisms increasingly evident. During this process, many Western countries which always mention the concepts of democracy, rule of law, and human rights have not only remained shamefully silent, but have also contributed to Israel's systematic attacks on civilians and violations of international law by selling weapons to a state which commits genocide or by providing it with political support.
Emboldened by its exceptional position of having faced no sanctions for the grave crimes it has committed to date, Israel has announced the new phase of its plans, which will further aggravate the ongoing atrocities in the Palestinian territories. This reality demonstrates that, for the victims, human rights and the principles of international humanitarian law have become effectively null and void. In this context, states which support or remain silent in the face of Israel’s actions in question instrumentalize human rights for their own political interests, reinforcing the perception that only certain societies are deemed worthy of these rights.
The international community, particularly the UN Security Council, must immediately take effective measures against Israel's unlawful and criminal actions and take urgent action for international intervention. The full implementation of International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court decisions, the immediate arrest of those responsible, and the operation of judicial mechanisms are indispensable for stopping the massacres carried out by Israel.
As the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye, we call on the international community to take concrete and decisive steps to end the occupation of Gaza, to initiate the termination of Israel's representation at the UN, and to guarantee the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Palestinian people.