News reports on mass hostage-taking and arrests by Israeli soldiers against the civilian population in Gaza have appeared in print and broadcast media.
Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court regulates acts of “... imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law...” committed against any civilian population law as crimes against humanity. According to Article 8 of the Rome Statute, “unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement” and "committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment" against the civilian population and persons who have laid down their arms and are under protection under the Geneva Conventions constitute war crimes. Article 16 of the United Nations (UN) Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that does not amount to torture. Article 2 of the Convention stipulates that torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment cannot be justified even in the event of war.
Under international humanitarian law and the law of war, the protection of civilians during war and armed conflict is essential. The holding of civilians as hostages or arrest of civilians on no legal basis, which is degrading and humiliating, is incompatible with the norms of humanitarian law. Despite all kinds of condemnation, Israel continues its inhumane and humiliating treatment of Palestinian civilians.
In the pictures in print and visual media, it is seen that Palestinian civilians are detained by Israeli soldiers in a pit and some civilians are held half-naked with their hands tied behind their backs. These acts constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes under the relevant articles of the Rome Statute and are in clear violation of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Such acts of mass arrest and exposure in violation of human dignity, according to the circumstances and the manner of treatment, constitute humiliation, intimidation and inhuman treatment of the Palestinian people.
In addition, although the images were reported in the press as arrests by Israel, it is not clear for what purpose these people were detained, and when Israel's actions in Gaza, which constitute genocide and crimes against humanity, are considered together, this action suggests that Palestinian civilians were taken hostage en masse. According to Article 8 of the Rome Statute, mass hostage-taking of civilians under the protection of the Geneva Conventions is a war crime. Although Israel has misled public opinion and made statements claiming that the detainees are in fact Hamas soldiers, the Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute state that inhumane treatment of even soldiers who laid down their arms constitutes a war crime.
Our Institution, main mission of which is the protection and promotion of human rights, prevention of discrimination and raising awareness on this issue, condemns these acts of mass arrest and hostage-taking, which are systematically carried out against the civilian population in Gaza and constitute war crimes, and we call on states, international organizations and all actors of the international community to show sensitivity and react to this atrocity.
Respectfully announced to the public.