August 7 , 2014

Ref: 119/2014


At 08:00 on Tuesday, 05 August 2014, the 30th day of the Israeli offensive of the Gaza Strip, a 72-hour humanitarian truce entered into force between the Palestinian and Israeli sides. Since then, all areas of the Gaza Strip have been calm, and a number of forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians have been able to return to their home, which were not completely destroyed, amidst concerns that Israeli shelling may be resumed. Over the past two days, the civil defense and medical crews have continued to recover bodies of victims from the areas that were invaded by Israeli forces, and a number of Palestinian have died of previous wounds. Based field tours carried out by PCHR’s staff in all areas that were invaded by Israeli forces, PCHR is shocked by the scenes of destruction caused by Israeli forces in the areas which had not been accessible. Hundreds of Palestinian families have become homeless. Municipalities and the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company have cautiously continued to repair part of the damage caused by Israeli forces the electricity and water networks. The Palestinian civilian population has suffered from the lack of electricity and water supplies, and the sewage systems have been extensively damaged, which may cause infectious diseases and lead of an environmental disaster.

Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on Gaza, 1,976 Palestinians, 1,643 of whom are civilians, including 463 children and 249 women, have been killed, and 7,920 others, mostly civilians, including 2,111 children and 1,415 women, have been wounded. Additionally, 800 houses have been targeted and destroyed by Israeli warplanes, and thousands of houses have completely or partially destroyed by Israeli shelling.

PCHR reiterates condemnation, expresses utmost concern for these crimes, and:

1) Calls upon the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to promptly visit the Gaza Strip, to fulfill her responsibilities to stop this barbaric offensive and to closely watch the systematic destruction caused and deliberate targeting of Palestinian civilians and property protected under the international law;

2) Calls upon the UN Human Rights Council to accelerate the formation of the fact-finding mission as decided by the Council in the resolution taken in its special session that was held on 23 July 2014 to investigate violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in the occupied Palestinian territory without any delay related to bureaucratic restrictions and procedures;

3) Calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their contractual obligations not only to respect the Convention, but also ensure respect for the Convention, and to immediately intervene to stop war crimes committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians, and calls upon the Swiss Government, the depository of the Geneva Conventions, to call for a new conference of the High Contracting Parties as soon as possible;

4) Stresses that holding war criminals accountable is an essential condition for any future settlement, and the international community should confirm that no impunity for war criminals, and the achievement of peace is conditioned by respect for human rights and the international law, and prosecution of war criminals;

5) Calls upon the Palestinian leadership to immediately accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which will provide opportunities to prosecute Israeli war criminals before the Court;

6) Stresses that the Gaza Strip is a disaster area and there is an urgent need to treat the disastrous humanitarian situation resulting from deliberate Israeli attacks on the civilian infrastructure, including electricity, water, hospitals, shelters and houses, forcible displacement of more than 500,000 civilians ad systematic and mass destruction of civilian communities;

7) Calls upon the international community to intervene to stop the policies of collective punishment and left the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than seven years, allowing the freedom of movement and goods, away from artificial improvements which have contributed to institutionalizing and prolonging the closure.