Stand with Palestine!

Note:  this page is under construction as at July 2024.  Some sections are incomplete, some statistics need to be updated, and some citations (or hyperlinks) need to be added.  

What happened?

In brief: 

1948–2023

2023–2024:  

  • On 07 October 2023 a collection of military and paramilitary forces from Gaza — led by the armed wings of Hamas and allied groups, but also involving opportunistic militants — attacked the border wall built by Israel, broke through, and penetrated several kilometres into Israel, ultimately killing ~1,139 Israelis (~373 members of the security forces, i.e. army, police, etc. [~33%], and ~766 civilians [~67%]) and taking captive ~250 Israelis (~25 soldiers [~10%]; the remainder [~90%] were mostly unarmed civilians, around half of whom were foreign citizens or dual nationals).  
    • Attacking and taking captive innocent, unarmed civilians is to be condemned.  
  • Since 07 October 2023 Israel's military have invaded Gaza, occupied parts of its territory, and launched an ongoing campaign of bombing and shooting that has killed ~38,000 Palestinians in Gaza (~3,000? armed personnel, and ~35,000? civilians), including many thousands of children [...].  
  • Israeli actions since 07 October 2023 have destroyed >70% of civilian infrastructure [...], forced ~1.5 million Palestinian people to flee (either from their own homes, or from their refuges) [...] and into increasingly smaller and inhospitable blocks of land with almost no facilities (power, sanitation, etc.) [...].  
  • Israeli actions since 07 October 2023 have strangled the entry of humanitarian aid (food, medical supplies, and fuel), destroyed warehouses of aid, killed registered humanitarian aid workers.  
  • Since 07 October 2023 Israeli's military have also killed ~50 journalists, banned international journalists from entering Gaza and banned the Al Jazeera news network from reporting from or broadcasting into Israel.  [Read more.]
  • Meanwhile, outside of Gaza, in the West Bank of Palestine the Israeli forces have captured and held ~7,000 Palestinians, and ~50 have died in Israeli custody [...];  violence against Palestinian civilians by Israeli "settlers" and Israeli forces has also continued, or rather increased.  

Taken as a whole, the actions of the Israeli armed forces, acting largely on instruction of the Israeli government, amount to a genocide against the Palestinian people.  

What we are doing

Division One Academic and Language Services stands with the people of Palestine, and Gaza in particular, as they resist the brutal Israeli invasion and attack on their country.  

5 % of all revenues received for language services (poof-reading, editing, and translation) since 01 January 2024 will be donated to support the people of Palestine in general, and Gaza in particular, through respected organisations such as World Central Kitchen, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and UNRWA, and/or relevant registered Australian charities.  

NOTE:  this decision does not have any effect at all on the amount paid by our clients.  Clients pay the same amount as they would have before 2024.  The only difference is that now some of our income will be dedicated for helping people who are (or have been) under attack and suffering.  

We would also decline work from clients in Israel.  

What others are doing

With over a million refugees and numerous injured or traumatised (or both), apart from those killed and all of the physical destruction, around the world many have already recognised the huge need for assistance, including: 

* Direct contributions may be more politically influential (which has some value), but are economically less efficient [...] than delivery of aid by land routes via competent local coordinating bodies, such as UNRWA.  

What you can do

You can support Palestine too by:  

  • educating yourself** about the war launched by Benjamin Netanyahu;  
  • boycotting Israeli products, services & investments;  
  • donating to reputable charities*** supporting Palestinians in need; 
  • raising this issue with other people.  

** If news is censored in your country, learn how to access international news sites through a VPN, and survey a variety of reputable publications from a diverse set of countries to understand how most of the world perceives the Israeli aggression and (apparent) war crimes.  

*** Human Rights Careers has a curated list of "14 Trusted Charities Helping Civilians in Palestine", which are generally major international aid organisations.  If you are an Australian resident, then you may wish to claim a tax deduction for your donation:  to do so, you must donate to a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR), which you can find listed as a DGR in the Australian Business Register.  The well-known charities whose administration offices are based in Australia should all be listed, and some of them may be active in Palestine.  Alternatively, you may be interested in charitable organisations that are dedicated specifically to Palestine. Searches on "Palestin*" in the DGR listings (and through the ACNC portal) returned five relevant DGR's, as reproduced below.  

#StandWithPalestine
#StandWithPalestine
#StandWithPalestine

 

Indiscriminate attacks, and deliberate targeting of civilians — Israeli war crime

Failure to ensure safety of civilians

Even in wartime, combatants have a duty to protect civilian life.  Failure to do so is a war crime.  

The attack of Israel's military on Gaza has killed and injured a huge number of Palestinians — the majority of whom are innocent, unarmed civilians.  Many others are missing — perhaps buried under the rubble of bombed buildings, perhaps beyond reach of the survivors, or perhaps with no surviving family or friends to even report them as missing.  

* This figure is as of July 2024.  While Israeli officials try to discredit that tally of deaths, the tally is compiled by the Health Ministry of Gaza, whose previous tallies have been found to be reliable by the United Nations, and the accuracy is broadly accepted around the world, including by independent monitors such as B'Tselem and Human Rights Watch.  Note:  Israeli officials themselves inflated the number of Israeli deaths from 07–08 October 2024 by over 20% (1,400 initially claimed, versus ~1,139 finally documented — including some who may have been accidentally killed by crossfire from Israeli security forces).

The horror of the war has resulted in entire families being wiped out — several generations.  Yet there are also cases of young children surviving as orphans — so many cases of Palestinian children whose parents were killed that a new acronym has been coined:  "...".    

Israel's military assaults have killed international humanitarian workers, medical staff and journalists, and Israelis too  (see below).  

Deliberate targeting of civilians

> UNHCR worker report

There is widespread suspicion that some of the humanitarian workers, medical staff and journalists were deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers (see below).  The suspicion grows due to the Israeli campaign of whitewashing and disinformation, and failure to properly hold the Israeli killers accountable for their crimes.  

An Israeli military policy of terrorising the Palestinian population

According to former Israeli army commander Yehuda Shaul: (founder of the group Breaking the Silence)

  • “That the IDF is doing everything to avoid civilian casualties is a blunt lie. Straight lie. And that’s a hard statement to say about my own army, but it’s the truth.”
  • Israel’s military strategy for 15 years has been about using disproportionate destruction, and it has become even more extreme after 07 October 2023.
  • “So if before, let’s say for a company officer in Hamas you are allowed to take out five civilians … now in this war, for every rank-and-file guy in Hamas you’re allowed to take out … 15 civilians.”
  • What Israel is doing in Gaza will “sow the seeds of hatreds for generations to come”, thereby worsening Israel's security.

Collective punishment — Israeli war crime

2.3 million people resided in Gaza before 07 October 2023. Most of them have been displaced by the Israeli military assaults (~1.7 million to 1.9 million people), forced into tiny pockets of land with few facilities — lacking power, water, food or sanitation (see below [...]).  

Israel has strangled the supply of aid into Gaza, with only about 20% of the necessary supplies being allowed in (~100 trucks per day, versus ~500 trucks per day), achieved by capriciously closing land routes, prolonging inspection times, and forcing aid to be brought in inefficiently by air or sea.  

Israel's actions have deliberately starved the entire population of Gaza, bringing severe malnutrition, disease and death to innocent Palestinian civilians, including children.  

Israel's actions have deliberately deprived the population of Gaza of medical treatment, exacerbating illness and bringing suffering & death to innocent Palestinian civilians, including children.  

Israel's actions to deliberately deprive civilians of the basic necessities of life constitutes collective punishment, which is a war crime.  

Forced displacement under threat of attack — Israeli war crime

The Israeli military invasion of Palestine in Gaza has included forced displacement of civilians from their homes —  or, very often, from refuges, hospitals and nursing homes — under threat of indiscriminate bombing and shooting if they do not leave.  This is a war crime.  

To understand why it is a war crime, consider how you would view the same actions occurring in a different part of the world.  Would it be acceptable for North Korea to "order the evacuation" of Seoul, in South Korea?  Would it be acceptable for Russia to "order the evacuation" of Warsaw, in Poland?  Would it be acceptable for the U.S.A. to "order the evacuation" of Havana, in Cuba ...or Beijing, in China?  And in each of these cases to then destroy those cities and all human life remaining within them?  

"Civilians who remain in place after a warning to evacuate — including those who fear the dangerous journey to the south and the conditions they’ll find there — do not lose the protections of international humanitarian law. No matter what impossible choices families in Gaza make — the Israeli military is obligated never to target civilians or civilian infrastructure and to take all measures to minimize harm to civilians and civilian facilities such as homes, schools and hospitals." — Human Rights Watch (16 Oct. 2023)  

Unsafe "Safe zones"

There are no "safe" places for evacuees to flee to.  

"Safe zones" without food, water, power or sanitation

Palestinian civilians have been forced into tiny pockets of land with few facilities — lacking power, water, food or sanitation (including one toilet per 4,000 refugees [...]). 

"Safe zones" repeatedly attacked by Israeli military

>Bombing in refugee camps ...

>Shooting/bombing on roads ...

Genocide

> Killing, intolerable conditions, destruction of homes and infrastructure

 

This is not entirely new — rather, it has intensified. 

"A 2021 survey of American Jews found that 22 per cent of respondents agreed that “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians” and 25 per cent that “Israel is an apartheid state”." — Anthony Loewestein, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald (12 November 2022)

Aim of the destruction of Palestine

Israel's government has refused to recognise the existence of the state of Palestine, and has banned the Palestinian flag from public display (even before 07 October 2023).  

As described above, the Israeli military .  

"About 70% of Gaza residents are refugees who fled their homes in what is now Israel in 1948, and their descendants. Many of the older people in northern Gaza remember all too well their flight from the Israeli army 75 years ago — and Israel's subsequent refusal to allow them to return. Statements by Israeli officials calling on Gaza residents to flee to Egypt exacerbate the fears of many Palestinian refugees in Gaza that they will lose their homes once again." — Human Rights Watch (16 Oct. 2023)

The Israeli military attacks have destroyed ~70%(?) of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, and damaged ~70%(?) of schools and ~70%(?) of farmland [...].  

Annexation of Palestine's West Bank is the apparent intention of Israel's current government, even though annexation is illegal under international law (as confirmed by the ICJ).  

Use of human shields — Israeli war crime

 

 

 

Attacks on medical staff, ambulances, and hospitals — Israeli war crime

 

 

 

Attacks on humanitarian aid workers and facilities

Israeli killing of humanitarians during the current military assault

As at 17 June 2024, at least 250 aid workers have been killed in Gaza under the Israeli military assault, according to the United Nations, making it the most dangerous place in the world for aid workers.  Those are the most perilous conditions aid workers have faced in decades, accord to the International Crisis Group.  

On 01 April 2024, Israeli forces specifically targeted three separate aid vehicles operated by World Central Kitchen (WCK), killing seven humanitarians — including three Brits, a Canadian–American, a Pole, a Palestinian, and an Australian (Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom) — who had adhered to all the demands of the Israeli military, who were fully notified of the aid mission's route.  Given that the cars were clearly marked with WCK signage (likely visible to Israeli drones), were struck ~1 km apart from one another on a route designated as an "accessible road for humanitarian aid", and were operating in a state of so-called "deconfliction", the founder of WCK, José Andrés, concluded that the Israeli attack had "targeted" the aid workers in Gaza "systematically, car by car", while the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, concluded that the Israeli military would "shoot at anything moving", even a deconflicted and notified convoy of aid workers.  The Australian government criticised Netanyahu's hand-waving excuses, and described the Israeli investigation as unsatisfactory.  

Many other humanitarians have been killed by the Israeli strikes inside Palestine, either targeted or untargeted, and a large proportion of these are local Palestinian aid workers, trying to help civilians to survive.  The Israeli military strike that killed seven WCK aid workers "stood out only because six of those killed were not Palestinian".  

A further issue is the lack of security for aid workers, as Israeli attacks have killed local Palestinian police who previously would have maintained law and order in Gaza.  

 

Israeli killing of humanitarians prior to 2023

Although they have intensified since 07 October 2023, Israel military has a much longer history of attacks on civilians trying to provide humanitarian support to Palestinian people.  In May 2023 Israeli commandoes killed 9 Turkish civilians attempting to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian people in Gaza.  

Smearing of humanitarian organisations with false or overblown accusations

Israel's government claimed — without substantiation — that UNRWA was aiding terrorism.  After examining the evidence, national governments around the world concluded that the Israeli claim was without merit [...].  Yet the confusion caused by this misinformation/disinformation limited the ability of UNRWA to do their job of helping ordinary Palestinian civilians to survive life under Israeli occupation and invasion.  

>MSF

Israel's government has a history of attempting — without substantiation — to brand humanitarian organisations operating in Palestine as "terrorists", in claims rejected by Jewish groups, U.S. experts in the CIA, and European nations.  

Hindering medical treatment — Israeli war crime

>Case of Palestinian child in car

This is not the only case.  Many thousands of Palestinian people died when Israeli bombs left them stuck under rubble of collapsed buildings — mostly innocent, unarmed civilians (including women & children) — whilst the ongoing Israeli attack meant that there was no way to rescue them, to provide medical attention ...or even to recover the bodies to identify them and bury them.  

> UNHCR worker report

 

Attacks on journalists and news organisations

The Israeli government has acted to prevent the world — and especially the people of Israel itself* — from seeing the full impact of the Israeli military assault on Gaza.  

* Such suppression is consistent with past oppressive actions, including Israeli government denial of the historical reality of the Nakba.  

Restrictions on reporting

Israel has banned foreign journalists from entering Gaza.  

Israel has banned Al Jazeera from being broadcast in Israel, and furthermore preventing Al Jazeera staff reporting from Israel.  Al Jazeera is a widely acclaimed news organisation headquartered in Qatar.  (Qatar is a neutral mediator, along with Egypt, in negotiations between Israel and Hamas — the government in Gaza.)

From CNN:

  • UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric condemned the closure of Al Jazeera. “As we have said before, we stand firmly against any decision to roll back freedom of the press. A free press provides an invaluable service to ensure that the public is informed and engaged,” Dujarric said.
  • The Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel described the move as “a dark day for democracy” and “a cause for concern for all supporters of a free press.”
  • The Committee to Protect Journalists said it “sets an extremely alarming precedent for restricting international media outlets working in Israel.”
  • Human Rights Watch condemned the decision as an “assault on freedom of the press”, and added, “Rather than trying to silence reporting on its atrocities in Gaza, the Israeli government should stop committing them.”

Killing of news personnel

Israeli forces have killed more than 100 members of the press in Gaza since 07 October 2023.  Some have been killed as a result of bombs dropped by Israel, while others have been individually shot.  

 

Attacks on educators, students, and education institutions

Israel has destroyed numerous schools and bombed all 12 universities located in Gaza, described as a "war against education".  Displaced students are unable to continue their education.  

 

Lack of respect for human life

Killing of Palestinians by Israel's military

The tens of thousands of dead Palestinian civilians, who even Israel admits were completely innocent victims of the Israeli assault on Gaza, should be enough to show the lack of respect that Israel's government armed forces have for Palestinian human life.  Added to that is the dozens of international citizens killed by the Israeli attacks, including aid workers, medical personnel, and members of the press.  

A great tragedy was the so-called "rescue" mission of 08 June 2024 in Nuseirat refugee camp:  prior to the Israeli military operation, 5 Israelis were alive (albeit 4 that were in captivity) and at least 274 Palestinians were also alive (the vast majority being completely innocent civilians);  after the Israeli military operation, 4 Israelis were still alive (and now out of captivity), 1 Israeli soldier was dead, and all of the 274-plus Palestinians were dead.  It has even been suggested that some other captured Israelis were killed in the Israeli raid.  
Israel's military have themselves admitted that accepting a negotiated deal [...] with Hamas — a deal promoted by the U.S.A., based on Israel's own negotiating stance, which Hamas has already accepted in principle — is the only way of returning most of the Israelis captured on 07 October 2023 and held by Hamas.  (This has been known for a long time.)  Many members of the Israeli public want a deal too.  So Israel's military were ordered to undertake an operation that killed hundred of innocent Palestinian civilians in order to release 4 Israelis who were not in imminent danger (accept from wanton bombing or shooting by Israeli military) and could have been released months ago if only Israel's government were negotiating in good faith.  

Killing of Israelis by Israel's military

Yet perhaps the starkest examples of wanton killing by the Israeli forces are the shooting dead of innocent Israeli civilians.  

Given that the Israeli forces are so quick to shoot dead innocent Israeli civilians, what hope is there that they would exercise restraint when they encounter Palestinian civilians?  

The loved ones of Israelis captured on 07 October 2023 and held in Palestine by Hamas understand that prolonging of the assault on Gaza and indiscriminate bombing and shooting by Israel's military are precisely the actions that put the lives of those Israeli captives at deadly risk.  A number of Israelis held captive are understood to have already died as direct consequences of the Israeli military action (directed by the Israel's government), combined with inaction by Israeli diplomats.  

Whitewashing of criminal actions by Israelis

 

Lack of consequences for criminal actions by Israelis

> ABC

 

Lack of credible intelligence

Israel has overhyped its own intelligence capabilities.  It was unable to recognise the telltale signs of the upcoming attack launched by over 1000 members of the armed wing of Hamas and allied groups (and followed by opportunistic militants) on 07 October 2023.  Strikingly, as far back as 2022 the Israeli military ignored warnings based on details of the planned attack;  in the days before 07 October 2023 Israel likewise disregarded urgent, high-level warnings by Egypt about the imminent upcoming attack;  reportedly the Israeli government was more focussed on its illegal "settlements" in Palestine's West Bank.  

Yet when the Israeli military are accused of killing innocent civilians, a default response is to say that their soldiers were relying on a "belief" that they were targeting armed adversaries, as if that excuses any war crime.  

Israel's government run by (accused) criminals and racists

Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Israel's government, has been accused of crimes in Israel — separate from accusations of war crimes made internationally — and is widely suspected, by Israeli citizens, of prolonging the war in order to satisfy the bloodlust of his extremist political partners and to thereby remain in power as a protection against criminal prosecution in Israel's courts.  

To their credit, many Israelis have recognised the cynical manoeuvres and have protested that Netanyahu's actions are harmful to Israel.  

A prominent political partner of Netanyahu is Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has been recorded encouraging the shooting of unarmed Palestinian civilians, has made statements described by the U.S.A. as "racist", has been convicted by the Israel courts for incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organization, and is described as a "fascist".  Indeed, he is viewed even by numerous Zionists as an extremist, with an "ideology of hatred" who "channels [...] racism [and] isolationism" and who "cultivates and celebrates division".  

Both men are accused of being responsible for Israeli war crimes, with international arrest warrants sought.    

Apartheid (racist) system of Israel 

Numerous respected, neutral organisations (Amnesty International, ...) have assessed the system of government, law and administration in Israel —and extended into Palestine by virtue of Israel's illegal control over those territories — as apartheid under international law, namely the Rome Statute and Apartheid Convention.  

Note that strictly speaking the Israeli system is religiously bigoted, because it treats Jewish citizens of Israel as if they were superior to non-Jewish people (including Muslims and Christians, as well as Druze and Circassians).  Judaism is a religion (system of beliefs and customs), not a race.  Nevertheless, given the bias of the Israeli systems, it is reasonable to describe it as inherently, deeply racist.  Ironically,  most Palestinians (Muslims and Christians in particular, but also Druze) can accurately be described as Semites.  

Global condemnation of Israeli military action

World leaders

  • President of France (Macron):
  • Leader of Ireland:
  • Leader of Turkey:
  • President of U.S.A. (Biden):

Ordinary citizens

  • Public rallies
  • Jewish groups (see below [...])
  • Within Israel (see below [...])

 

Jewish and Israeli criticism of Israeli military action

Many Jewish people and citizens of Israel have criticising the actions of the Israeli military, the policies of the Israeli government, and the rulings of the Israeli courts in relation to attacks, subjugation and persecution of Palestinian people.  Evidently such criticisms must never be disingenuously equated to "antisemitism", and are not necessarily even "anti-Israel" — such criticisms can justifiably be made by Israeli patriots.  

The conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism is a, "worrying trend [...] that's used to weaponise Judaism and antisemitism to kind of justify Israel's action." — Naama Carlin (a Jewish person with dual Israeli–Australian citizenship)

There are many examples of Jewish and/or Israeli groups who have spoken out against the Israeli military attacks, and horrific mistreatment of the Palestinian people:  

  • שוברים שתיקה = Breaking the Silence — veteran soldiers revealing the reality of life in the Occupied Territories [Palestine], and aiming to end the occupation (Israel)
  • שלום עכשיו = Peace Now — promoting peace & justice for all (Israel)
  • עומדים ביחד نقف معًا = Standing Together — Israelis against the occupation, and for peace, equality & social justice (Israel)
  • بتسيلم = בצלם = B'tselem — The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories [Palestine] (Israel)
  • Progressive Israel Network — American Jews promoting peace, human rights & democracy, and against annexation/occupation. (U.S.A.)
    • ALEPH —  (U.S.A.)
    • Ameinu & Americans for Peace Now, which are in the process of merging into a single organisation with a new name.  
      • Ameinu —  progressive Jews in North America (U.S.A.)
      • Americans for Peace Now — the sister organization of Shalom Achshav, Israel’s preeminent peace movement (U.S.A.)  
    • Habonim Dror North America —  (U.S.A.)
    • Hashomer Hatzair USA —  (U.S.A.)
    • J Street — representing "the views of the majority of American Jews", pro-Israel, pro-peace, & pro-democracy, and thus against the occupation/annexation of Palestine and against "tramp[ling] on Palestinian rights" (U.S.A.)
    • Jewish Labor Committee —  (U.S.A.)
    • New Israel Fund (NIF) — promoting equality & justice for all in Israel [and in Palestine] (U.S.A.)
    • New York Jewish Agenda (NYJA) —  New York Jews supporting a Jewish and democratic Israel whilst protecting human rights, racial justice, and equality (U.S.A.)
    • Partners for Progressive Israel —  (U.S.A.)
    • Reconstructing Judaism —  (U.S.A.)
    • T'ruah — The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights (U.S.A.)
  • Jewish Voice for Peace — progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization (U.S.A.)
  • IfNotNow — American Jews against apartheid in Israel, and demanding equality & justice for all (U.S.A.)
  • JSpaceCanada — Canadian Jews committed to safety for Jews & Palestinians, and self-determination for Israel & Palestine (Canada)
  • Tzedek Collective — anti-colonial, anti-Zionist Jewish community (Australia)
  • Jewish Council of Australia — Jewish professionals supporting human rights, and opposing racism & antisemitism (Australia)
  • Australian Jewish Democratic Society — progressive Australian Jews supporting peace, justice & indigenous rights (Australia)
  • Na’amod — British Jews against occupation (U.K.)
  • Yachad — British Jews advocating for political resolution (U.K.)
  • Independent Jewish Voices — British Jews supporting human rights, justice & peace (U.K.) 
  • Jews for Justice for Palestinians — British Jews supporting human rights & peace, and opposing oppression and occupation (U.K.)
  • ...

The views of Jewish people around the world are not adequately represented by legacy institutions.  

Moreover, rallies by up to 100,000 ordinary Israeli citizens against the action — and inaction — of Israel's government & military have filled the streets of Tel Aviv.  These rallies are strongly supported by many loved ones of Israeli captives.  These calls for a ceasefire deal have been (implicitly) endorsed by high-profile former Israeli captive Noa Argamani — who was herself freed in the Israeli military raid on Nuseirat refugee camp that left at least 274 Palestinian people dead, along with one Israeli soldier and possibly one or more other Israeli captives (see above [...]).  

 

Global support for the people of Palestine

Many nations around the world see their own struggles reflected in the current ongoing persecution of Palestinians by Israel's forces.  

For example:  

  • Australian Aboriginal history
  • Irish history
  • South Africa's struggle to end apartheid
  • Vietnam's struggle for liberation

Most countries around the world did already recognise the state of Palestine.  The disproportionate Israeli aggression precipitated recent formal recognition by Armenia, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain, and even more countries are mooted to do so in future, including Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, the U.K., Australia, and South Korea.  

Arrest warrants sought by International Criminal Court

Arrest warrants sought

Eight neutral countries have "referred" the situation in Palestine — comprising Gaza and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) — to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in order to expedite the ICC's investigation of alleged crimes.  Those referring countries consist of Palestine, South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, Djibouti, Chile and Mexico.  

As more evidence has come to light and subjected to careful preliminary assessment by the ICC, arrest warrants have been sought:  

Equality in the eyes of the law

While deploring the attacks in Israel of 07 October 2023, the ICC's Prosecutor (Kharim Khan) made clear that the people of Palestine "deserve justice as much as any other of God's creation deserves justice" — "Lady Justice is blind", and does not heed religion, nationality, race or gender in differentiating right from wrong. 

  • "There's no blank cheque. It's not a case that one can do whatever one wants to pursue a particular objective. The [...] Rome Statute [...] requires that innocent lives are particularly protected. And what is most important is that the application of the law is not theoretical."
  • "Israel has clear obligations in relation to its war with Hamas: not just moral obligations, but legal obligations that it has to comply with the laws of armed conflict. It's there in the Rome Statute. It's there in black and white. It's there in the Geneva Conventions. It's there in black and white."
  • Israel "need to demonstrate the proper application of the principles of distinction, precaution and of proportionality. [...] In relation to every dwelling house, in relation to any school, any hospital, any church, any mosque – those places are protected, unless the protective status has been lost. And [...] the burden of proving that the protective status is lost rests with those who fire the gun, the missile, or the rocket in question."
  • "My Office certainly will scrutinise all information we receive in this regard to ensure that the law is not some kind of optional extra that one can take and leave."

About the ICC 

The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent judicial body. The court’s jurisdiction is limited to crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.  123 countries are States [that are] Parties to the Rome Statute under which the International Criminal Court operates — in other words, those countries officially approve of the general structure of the court, including the ability of the court to take independent actions (not directed by any country) in accordance with international law. Those 123 countries comprise 33 African States, 19 Asia–Pacific States, 18 Eastern Europe States, 28 Latin American & Caribbean States, and 25 Western European & other States. 

Israeli "occupation" declared illegal by International Court of Justice

Occupation is illegal

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel's occupation of Palestine is a de facto annexation, and thus illegal under international law.  [...]

About the ICJ

[...]