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By Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

Palestinian Territory – Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forcibly displaced by Israeli occupation forces during the latest military campaign against Palestinians in the northern West Bank. The goal of the offensive, which is occurring in Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps, is to drive the Palestinians from their homes and establish new realities that defy international law.

A Euro-Med Monitor field team observed these forced relocation efforts on Saturday 8 February, when the Israeli occupation army targeted hundreds of Palestinians from the Far’a camp in Tubas, in the northern West Bank. This displacement is part of a larger offensive that started on 2 February and has involved Israeli forces conducting frequent raids on the town of Tamoun and the Far’a camp, destroying infrastructure and homes while enforcing a rigorous curfew on the populace.

Dozens of families have been displaced in recent days, but Saturday’s displacement operations took a more dangerous turn, as hundreds of families were compelled to evacuate due to the threat of home bombings, starvation, and siege. In the face of humiliating and degrading measures, taking place in cold weather and without the provision of adequate shelter, residents were compelled to evacuate their homes via routes imposed by the Israeli military.

The Israeli occupation announced the start of a massive military operation known as “Iron Wall” on 21 January, which started in Jenin, its refugee camp, and its towns. On 27 January, the Israeli military operation expanded to Tulkarm and the governorate’s Tulkarm and Nour Shams refugee camps. This is just one example of the systematic practices, most notably mass forced displacement, by which Israeli forces are intensifying their operations in the West Bank.

The Israeli occupation army has conducted one of the biggest forced displacement operations in the West Bank in decades, displacing over 11,000 residents of the Tulkarm camps and the majority of the Jenin camp’s 13,000 residents. These actions are akin to the strategy used by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip, where dozens of illegitimate eviction orders resulted in the forced relocation of nearly two million Palestinians.

Israel’s practice of forcibly displacing and expelling Palestinian residents in the West Bank has been in place for years, and has worsened in the last two years. Previously, however, the perpetrators were mostly individuals or members of small groups, as evidenced by their destruction of homes, unlawful confiscation of land and properties, dismantling of a population’s infrastructure, and ejection of  indigenous families or communities in favour of establishing settlement outposts, as was the case in multiple locations in Hebron and the Jordan Valley.

In addition to forced displacement, the Israeli military’s current genocidal strategy in the West Bank has involved widespread destruction. This destruction has included the bombing and burning of residential buildings and infrastructure, the cutting off of water, electricity, and communications supplies, and a killing policy that has resulted in the deaths of 30 Palestinians—including four children—and the injury of almost 300 others over the course of 19 days.

The Israeli occupation has employed a variety of additional tactics to create harsh living conditions in the West Bank. Israeli politicians have made public remarks encouraging the spread of violence there, for example. In particular, an Israeli security official speaking on Channel 14 about the cabinet’s decision to start the Jenin campaign stated, “We are starting a massive campaign in the northern West Bank, which could go on for months. We will act there just as we did in Gaza. We will leave them in ruins.”

Israel is encouraged by its decades-long impunity and the international community’s general attitude of helplessness that accompanied the Israeli crime of in the Gaza Strip for over 15 months. With its recent escalation in aggression, Israel threatens to repeat its Gaza genocide in the West Bank.

In order to protect Palestinian civilians and put an end to Israel’s operation in the West Bank, the international community must act immediately. Israel has repeatedly declared its intention to annex the West Bank and establish sovereignty over it, which has led to the ongoing military operation.

The international community must uphold the Palestinian people’s rights to freedom and dignity; support their right to self-determination, in line with international law; stop Israeli settler colonialism and illegal occupation of Palestinian territory; dismantle its apartheid against, and systematic isolation of, the Palestinians; lift the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip; hold Israeli perpetrators and their Western allies accountable and prosecute them; and ensure surviving Palestinian victims receive compensation and redress.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is a Geneva-based independent organization with regional offices across the MENA region and Europe

11 February 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Jessica Corbett

A coalition of over 100 organizations on Monday forcefully denounced U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip of Palestinians and take over the coastal enclave recently decimated by an Israeli military campaign conducted with American weapons.

Led by A New Policy—a group founded by Biden administration officials who resigned in protest—and the Quaker organization Friends Committee on National Legislation, the coalition said that “we are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s recent statements, tracing them back to January 25, just days after the Republican returned to power.

“We, the undersigned organizations, decry and oppose any effort or initiative, and any calls for, the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and support the joint statement of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab League that similarly rejected any such steps, the coalition wrote, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The letter highlights the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in the 1940s during the formation of the modern state of Israel, which Palestinians call the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe; that since 2006, Gaza “has been in a state of siege,” with residents enduring repeated bombardment and restrictions on necessities; and that since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, they have faced what various experts have found to be a plausible case of genocide, with over 48,000 people killed.

“Through this all, the Palestinians in Gaza have stood with remarkable dignity and perseverance, insisting throughout the immense suffering and loss that they will never abandon their homeland,” the letter continues, echoing recent remarks from residents. “We are deeply concerned by clear statements of intent from Israeli government officials over the past year concerning the creation of new Israeli settlements within the Gaza Strip, which further reinforce the intent of ethnic cleansing.”

“The United States has no right to dictate to the Palestinian people in Gaza to leave, and direct other countries to participate in their displacement. We are also aware that even a temporary external displacement could be used by Israel to enact permanent exile,” the letter says. “While we agree that the short and medium-term humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza may be difficult to meet given the nearly complete destruction that Israel has wrought, if the necessary services cannot be provided in Gaza, the people of Gaza must be able to access them elsewhere within the historic borders of Palestine and must be able to return.”

The coalition also expressed alarm over “an uptick in settler violence” and deadly Israel Defense Forces operations in the illegally occupied West Bank, writing that “these actions are part and parcel of a strategy that seeks to make not just Gaza, but all Palestinian areas across historic Palestine, unlivable for the Palestinian people, and are thus contributory to a process of ethnic cleansing.”

“Palestine is not just an idea—it is a place. It is a homeland to the Palestinian people,” the groups stressed. “To participate in, facilitate, or endorse their removal from it would violate every precept of international law, devastate the rules-based international order that protects us all, do irreversible harm to America’s global influence, and be an act of unconscionable immorality.”

The letter concludes with a poem from Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish, who wrote:

My country is not a suitcase
I am not a traveler
I am the lover and the land is the beloved.
The archaeologist is busy analyzing stones.
In the rubble of legends he searches for his own eyes
to show
that I am a sightless vagrant on the road
with not one letter in civilization’s alphabet.
Meanwhile in my own time I plant my trees.
I sing of my love.

In addition to the coalition leaders, signatories to the letter include ActionAid USA, CodePink, Democracy for the Arab World Now, Demand Progress Education Fund, Democratic Socialists of America, IfNotNow Movement, Just Foreign Policy, Madre, National Iranian American Council, Oil Change International, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, and September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, and U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

The letter came amid a fresh wave of alarm over Trump’s latest comments about Gaza and Palestinians, which aired Monday morning on “Fox & Friends.” He said: “We’ll build safe communities a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is. In the meantime, I would own this—think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land.”

Asked by Fox News‘ Bret Baier whether Palestinians would have the right to return to Gaza, the president said, “No, they wouldn’t.”

Trump reveals ‘beautiful’ real estate plan for Gaza Strip

The letter also came as Hamas on Monday suspended its next planned release of hostages taken in October 2023, citing Israel’s deadly violations of a fragile cease-fire deal that took effect last month.

Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.

11 February 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Quds News Network

The ceasefire agreement in Gaza is on the brink of collapse due to persistent Israeli violations. Hamas’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, announced on February 10 that it would postpone the release of Israeli prisoners until Israel fully complies with the ceasefire agreement. Spokesman Abu Ubaida stated that Israel has been deliberately delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, attacking those attempting to return, and blocking essential relief efforts.

Since the implementation of the ceasefire on January 19, Israeli forces have continued deadly attacks, killing 25 Palestinians, obstructing vital humanitarian aid, and advancing plans for the forced displacement of Gaza’s population. These actions defy the terms of the ceasefire and risk reigniting large-scale conflict.

This is how Israel has violated the ceasefire agreement with the resistance in Gaza.

Hamas Delays Israeli Prisoner Release Following Israel’s Violations of Ceasefire Deal

Hamas announced it would delay the release of Israeli prisoners scheduled for February 15 following Israel’s failure to uphold its commitments under the ceasefire agreement.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, said Israel had delayed the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza. He also stated that Israel has been targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid.

“We have fulfilled all our obligations,” Abu Ubaida stated. “But Israel has not. The prisoners will not be released until Israel complies and makes up for its past violations.”

More than 20 days have passed since the ceasefire began, but conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate. Israel still blocks the entry of heavy machinery needed to remove 55 million tons of rubble. Without it, tens of thousands of bodies remain trapped under collapsed buildings, and roads remain inaccessible. Israel also obstructed aid entry into Gaza and arrested truck drivers.

Israeli forces have also continued attacking civilians. In the latest incident, they struck a vehicle carrying displaced families returning to northern Gaza. Several people were injured, including children.

Israel has blocked caravans and temporary homes from entering Gaza, delayed phase two negotiations, which were supposed to start a week ago as Netanyahu has yet to authorize his team to engage, and restricted the number of Gazan patients allowed to exit through Rafah, even vetoing some names. It has also killed dozens of Gazans after the ceasefire took effect, and its forces continue to advance beyond the agreed 900-meter buffer zone.

Hamas reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire deal but warned that it would only comply as long as Israel did the same.

Deadly Violations: Ongoing Attacks on Palestinians

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces have continued their assaults on Palestinians in Gaza. At least 25 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began. These attacks represent a direct breach of the agreement and undermine efforts to maintain stability. The ongoing violence raises fears that Israel is using the ceasefire as a tactical pause rather than a genuine step toward de-escalation.

Blocking Humanitarian Aid: A Manufactured Crisis

Israel has continued to systematically obstruct aid deliveries, worsening the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Under the ceasefire’s humanitarian protocol, Israel was required to allow:

• 600 aid trucks per day, including 300 designated for northern Gaza.
• 50 fuel trucks daily to restore essential services.
• Equipment for clearing rubble and rescuing victims.
• Tents, shelters, and temporary housing units for displaced families.
• Funds to support reconstruction efforts.

•  However, Israel has failed to meet these commitments. As of February 2, only 9,630 aid trucks had entered Gaza—far below the agreed amount. Fuel shortages have left hospitals, bakeries, and water facilities struggling to function, with civil defense teams completely deprived of fuel, preventing them from clearing debris and recovering bodies. The continued blockade of aid directly violates the ceasefire and exacerbates Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.

Ethnic Cleansing Plans: Displacement as a Policy

While violating the ceasefire on the ground, Israeli leaders have also made statements confirming their intent to permanently displace Palestinians from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have openly discussed plans to expel Gaza’s population. Human rights experts warn that such actions constitute ethnic cleansing and violate international law.

With Israel continuing to disregard the terms of the ceasefire, Hamas has called on mediators—Egypt, Qatar, and the United States—to intervene before the agreement collapses entirely. As violations escalate, the fragile agreement stands on the edge of failure, threatening to plunge Gaza back into war.

Trump says All hell is gonna break out

According to Reuters, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that if all hostages held in Gaza are not returned by 12 p.m. on Saturday, he will call for the cancellation of the ceasefire and “let all hell break loose”.

[https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1889117230136201228]

11 February 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Aysar Alais and Betul Yilmaz

RAMALLAH, Palestine

An Israeli court sentenced a 15-year-old Palestinian child to 18 years in prison for alleged involvement in an attack in the occupied West Bank, a prisoners’ affairs group said on Sunday.

The Jerusalem District Court also ordered Mohammed Basel Zalbani, from the Shu’fat refugee camp, east of occupied East Jerusalem, to pay 300,000 shekels ($83,333) in compensation, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

The organization said Zalbani was arrested on Feb. 13, 2023, on charges of resisting the Israeli occupation. His family’s home was also demolished.

According to the Hamas-run Prisoner Information Office, Zalbani was accused of involvement in the killing of an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint in the Shu’fat camp in 2023.

At least 14,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including 1,115 children, figures released by the prisoners’ affairs group showed.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 915 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 others injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry.

16 February 2025

Source: aa.com.tr

By Quds News Network

Gaza (Quds News Network)- Today, during the sixth batch of the prisoner exchange between Israel and the Gaza resistance, freed Palestinian detainees were subjected to a new level of humiliation.

In previous batches, Israeli prison authorities forced released detainees to wear plastic hand bracelets inscribed with the biblical Psalm, “I pursued my enemies and overtook them!” which served as a blatant threat meant to haunt them even after their release. That same phrase was also displayed on a large banner outside Ofir Prison in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinian releases occur.

The humiliation escalated today as freed detainees were forced to wear shirts emblazoned with the Star of David alongside the Arabic declaration, “We do not forget, and we do not forgive.” This demeaning act has sparked fierce condemnation from Palestinians, who see it as a calculated attempt to strip them of dignity and impose a message of subjugation.

The forced branding of Palestinian detainees starkly echoes one of history’s darkest chapters. During the Holocaust, the Nazis compelled Jews to wear the yellow Star of David, known as the “Jewish Badge” or “Judenstern,” marking them for discrimination, persecution, and eventual extermination. This tool of dehumanization was designed to single out and marginalize an entire people.

The modern imposition of similar symbols and slogans on freed Palestinian detainees is not merely symbolic; it revives painful memories and reinforces an oppressive narrative, serving as a grim reminder that dehumanization is not confined to the past but persists today in Israel and among its officials.

Israeli media claim that the government was unaware of this behavior and did not condemn it. Instead, they assert that interim prison service chief Kobi Yaakobi, a former aide to the resigned National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, continues to uphold the inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees, even after Ben-Gvir’s resignation following Netanyahu’s acceptance of the ongoing exchange deal.

15 February 2025

Source: qudsnen.co

By Nora Barrows-Friedman

The following is from the news roundup during the 13 February livestream. Watch the entire episode here.

Since the 19 January ceasefire in Gaza, Israel has violated the ceasefire in a myriad of ways, including by withholding the amounts of aid, fuel and medical deliveries agreed upon under the ceasefire terms, restricting people’s freedom of movement and by continuing to attack and kill Palestinians.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has reported, “Despite the declaration of a ceasefire … Israel continues to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip by denying Palestinians the basic necessities for survival and imposing conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”

The rights group added that more than 100 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire came into effect, including some who died from previous injuries during Israel’s genocidal attacks, and at least 900 have been injured.

On 10 February, Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas political party, announced that the planned release of Israeli captives would be postponed indefinitely unless Israel fulfilled its obligations and stopped its ceasefire violations.

Hamas officials then submitted a report to mediators on 11 February, listing 269 “field violations” by the Israeli military since the ceasefire, as well as the ongoing denials of aid and fuel deliveries.

Also included on the list were several “political violations.” They included statements by Israeli lawmakers urging the expulsion of Gaza’s population, and the ways Israeli prison authorities were subjecting Palestinian captives to assault and violence upon their release during the exchanges.

Israeli lawmakers then accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, with US President Donald Trump insinuating that Israel should cancel the ceasefire if the Israeli captives aren’t released.

But even the Israeli military admitted in Hebrew media that Hamas had not violated the terms.

[https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah/status/1889322495032836547]

Trucks filled with fuel, medical supplies, tents, caravans, heavy machinery and food have been set to enter the Gaza Strip. But it is unclear when these necessary supplies will arrive as agreed upon.

[https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah/status/1889968679561080878]

Israel withdraws from Netzarim corridor

Israeli forces officially withdrew from the Nezarim corridor, which bisected Gaza for more than a year.

By 9 February, the French news agency AFP and The Times of Israel jointly reported that a Gaza government official said that “Israeli forces have dismantled their positions and military posts and completely withdrawn their tanks from the Netzarim corridor on Salah al-din Road, allowing vehicles to pass freely in both directions.”

The joint report added, “An AFP journalist on the scene said there were no Israeli troops present on the corridor.”

The Al Jazeera Arabic channel filmed footage of the wreckage left behind by the Israeli military after it withdrew from the Netzarim corridor.

[https://twitter.com/AJA_Palestine/status/1888494971243688282]

In a statement, the Hamas political party said that “the withdrawal of the Zionist occupation army from the Netzarim axis is a victory for the will of our people.”

Medical equipment “deliberately destroyed”

Turning to the healthcare situation in Gaza, Caroline Seguin, the emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, stated from northern Gaza on 11 February that “the level of destruction is total, it’s a flat land. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Our Palestinian colleagues are no longer able to recognize their own neighborhoods, some were in shock, others literally collapsed.”

[https://twitter.com/MSF_USA/status/1889423275853304274]

“Kamal Adwan Hospital has been razed, while al-Shifa, al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals are seriously damaged and only partially functioning,” Seguin added.

“We were utterly shocked to observe that in Indonesian Hospital every medical machine seemed to have been deliberately destroyed; they were smashed to pieces, one by one, to make sure no medical care could be provided anymore. You have to ask, what is the motivation of such action? These machines are made to save people’s lives, mothers, fathers, children. It’s devastating to see the state of these hospitals.”

There is an update on the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who was abducted by the Israeli military on 27 December along with his colleagues, medical staff, patients and their companions.

As we reported last week, Abu Safiya was still prohibited by the Israeli prison authorities any access to a lawyer as he remains in administrative detention at Ofer military prison.

On Tuesday, 11 February, after 47 days of arbitrary detention, Abu Safiya met with a lawyer from the human rights group Al Mezan for the first time since his abduction from Gaza.

During the visit, “Dr. Abu Safiya detailed the various forms of torture and abuse to which he has been subjected both during his unlawful arrest and throughout his arbitrary detention by Israeli forces and authorities,” Al Mezan stated.

“When he was captured from Gaza and transferred to the Sde Teiman military detention camp, he was subjected to various forms of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment – methods that are emblematic of Israeli mass arrest operations in Gaza.”

Abu Safiya reported “being forcibly stripped, having his hands tightly shackled, and being made to sit on sharp gravel for approximately five hours by Israeli forces. He was also subjected to severe physical abuse, including beatings with batons and electric shock sticks, as well as repeated blows to the chest.”

Al Mezan said that Abu Safiya was held in solitary confinement for 25 days at Ofer prison and “endured nearly continuous interrogation for 10 days.” He reported severe health problems and a precipitous decline in his weight, and has been denied access to healthcare.

Al Mezan urged the so-called international community, particularly Israel’s enabling allies, “to take immediate action to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abu Safiya, as well as of all Palestinians who have been unlawfully arrested and arbitrarily detained by Israeli authorities, including hundreds of healthcare workers.”

In a statement, Hussam Abu Safiya’s family said there is “a possibility of his release in the coming stages, as there are no charges against him from the Israeli public prosecution. He urges the world to help secure his release and the release of all detained healthcare personnel from all hospitals. They must be protected, their rights ensured, and they should receive care and be released as soon as possible.”

[https://twitter.com/HussamAbuSafiya/status/1889412170766754224]

However, on 14 February, Al Mezan stated that the Israeli army has issued an order to “detain Abu Safiya under the Unlawful Combatants Law.”

This law, Al Mezan says, “enables prolonged detention without charges, stripping detainees of any meaningful judicial review or due process rights.”

[https://twitter.com/AlMezanCenter/status/1890415985749803022]

40,000 forcibly displaced in occupied West Bank

Turning to the occupied West Bank, The Electronic Intifada’s Tamara Nassar reports that Israel’s ongoing deadly assaults have nearly emptied several refugee camps, specifically in the northern areas.

Some 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced since Israel’s military operation, dubbed “Iron Wall,” launched in the northern Jenin refugee camp on 21 January.

Since then, Israel expanded its assault to Tulkarm refugee camp and Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, also in the north. Al-Faraa refugee camp in the foothills of the Jordan Valley, south of Tubas, was also targeted.

Nassar writes that the Israeli army has carried out invasions and airstrikes, destroyed critical infrastructure such as electricity, sewage and water lines, raided homes, arrested youth and deployed snipers in residential areas.

Nearly 50 Palestinians have been killed in those areas and over 100 have been injured.

And in occupied Jerusalem, two owners of the Educational Bookshop were arrested and detained on 9 February after Israeli police raided both of their stores in the city and threw books on the floor, accusing the owners of selling items that incite terrorism, including a children’s coloring book titled From the River to the Sea.

The owners, Mahmoud and Ahmed Muna, were released on Tuesday, and according to their lawyer, the Israeli court charged them with disturbing public order and ordered that they be placed under house arrest for five days.

The court also ordered them not to be allowed to return to their bookstores for 20 days.

Highlighting resilience

Finally, as we always do, we wanted to share images of people expressing determination and resilience in the aftermath of Israel’s 15-month campaign of destruction.

A group of kids sitting around a campfire in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, spoke with journalist Anas al-Sharif about US-Israeli aspirations to expel them to other countries and take over Gaza.

Every time Anas asks the kids if they’re thinking about leaving the north of Gaza, they all shout in unison “no!”

“Let Trump bark all he wants,” one of the kids says. “We’re not leaving.”

[https://twitter.com/translatingpal/status/1889451618971832630]

Nora Barrows-Friedman is a staff writer and associate editor at The Electronic Intifada, and is the author of In Our Power: US Students Organize for Justice in Palestine (Just World Books, 2014).

14 February 2025

Source: electronicintifada.net

By Sondos Asem

For over 15 months, Israeli soldiers have taken to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms to show off their handiwork in Gaza.

Now, this very evidence is being used to pursue war crimes charges against them across the globe, with the Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation at the forefront of these efforts.

“You can’t massacre people, film yourself doing it, broadcast it to the world, confess to your actions, and then simply go about your life, sitting next to me at a cafe in Brussels,” says Dyab Abou Jahjah, president of the foundation.

He emphasises that their mission is clear: “We are going after war criminals wherever they go.”

Abou Jahjah says that the foundation has gathered over 8,000 pieces of evidence related to alleged war crimes by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

“The evidence is there,” he tells Middle East Eye. “The challenge is to turn it into a legal case.”

Videos of soldiers proudly demolishing homes, wearing Palestinian women’s underwear and torching libraries have caused huge offence worldwide.

But Abou Jahjah says the Hind Rajab Foundation is looking at this footage in a different light.

“We’re looking at a crime scene, searching for the crimes, and establishing connections between the perpetrators, the crime and the victims,” he explained.

The Hind Rajab Foundation is named in honour of a six-year-old Palestinian girl whose tragic death at the hands of Israeli soldiers on 29 January 2024 has become symbolic of the widespread violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israeli forces.

An investigation in June revealed that Rajab and five of her family members were targeted with 335 Israeli army bullets as they attempted to flee northern Gaza in their car.

For three hours, Hind was the sole survivor, trapped alongside her slain relatives. Desperate for help, she called Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics, but they were killed by Israeli forces before they could rescue her.

A harrowing recording of Hind’s final phone call, released after the incident, captured her chilling pleas: “I’m scared of the dark, come get me.”

Her tragic story has driven Abou Jahjah and his team of human rights lawyers to seek justice for countless victims like Hind.

“In this genocide, children make up the majority of the victims,” Abou Jahjah says, “which speaks volumes about the nature of the genocidal party: the Israeli army and the Israeli state.”

Palestinian health officials say that at least 18,000 children were among the more than 48,000 Palestinians killed by Israel’s war on Gaza.

Offensive litigation

The Hind Rajab Foundation brings cases against state officials, senior commanders, as well as lower-ranking soldiers.

The bulk of its work is focused on offensive litigation and a two-pronged accountability strategy, targeting two categories of soldiers: Israelis who hold the nationalities of a country where a court case can be initiated, and travelling soldiers who are not nationals of their countries of destination.

“We we do not see ourselves as an NGO. We see ourselves as a justice machine,” Abou Jahjah says.

So far, the Hind Rajab Foundation has sought to initiate nearly 100 cases against Israeli soldiers in 14 countries with universal jurisdiction: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden and Thailand.

National courts can prosecute international crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows a state to prosecute individuals for serious international crimes, regardless of where the crime was committed or the nationality of the victim or perpetrator. But universal jurisdiction rules vary by country.

Most UN member states have jurisdiction over one of the four most serious crimes under international law: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and torture.

A 2021 survey by Amnesty International showed that 164 (roughly 85 percent) of the 193 UN member states have criminalised at least one of these crimes under their national law.

The litigation is easier when soldiers hold the nationality of the country where they are present. Lawyers can immediately establish jurisdiction, explained Abou Jahjah.

“We are very hopeful that on the level of dual-national soldiers, we will reach judgments and convictions.”

It is less straightforward to prosecute visiting soldiers who aren’t citizens of countries they are visiting. In that case, universal jurisdiction is the legal basis for bringing war crime charges.

Additionally, under international criminal law, soldiers can be held criminally responsible for violations of international humanitarian law even if they were following orders from their superiors.

The Israeli army denies committing war crimes in Gaza and insists that its commanders and soldiers abide by the laws of armed conflict, which prohibit targetting non-combatants.

Two breakthroughs

In its first five months, the Hind Rajab Foundation achieved two major breakthroughs, says Abou Jahjah.

The first was in Cyprus in November, where a prosecutor opened an investigation against an Israeli reservist soldier after a case that the foundation filed against him.

The Israeli state helped the soldier flee Cyprus, according to Abou Jahjah and Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

In its complaint, the foundation supplied Cypriot authorities with evidence, including his own video footage showing him burning a civilian home and property in Gaza while stating: “We will not stop until we burn all of Gaza.”

A few weeks later, the foundation initiated a similar case, this time in Brazil against another Israeli soldier who was visiting the country on holiday. The Hind Rajab Foundation said that the Israeli state again helped the soldier flee Brazil before he could be arrested.

The Hind Rajab Foundation, acting on a power of attorney granted by families of Palestinian victims, accused the soldier of taking part in the destruction of entire neighbourhoods in Gaza, which it argued amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity.

They submitted 500 pages of video evidence as well as photographs and geolocation data documenting his participation in the alleged crimes.

Acting in response to the criminal complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation, the Federal Court of the Federal District, following a probe by the prosecutor, issued an urgent order for the police to investigate and take action against the suspect.

Abou Jahjah says the Brazil case marked a historic precedent. It was a court order, by a judge, which would have been followed by an arrest warrant had the suspect been on Brazilian soil.

Additionally, Abou Jahjah says he considers it a form of indictment, with significant legal weight, because a judge would not issue such an order unless he or she were convinced that there was a plausible case.

In the aftermath of the Brazil case, Israeli media published guidelines for travelling soldiers to avoid arrest for war crimes, including refraining from sharing social media posts showing evidence of unlawful actions.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced new rules to blur the photos and conceal the identities of soldiers of all ranks in publicity materials.

Changing the mindset of states

Abou Jahjah says that even though states around the world have universal jurisdiction on war crimes, many tend to be reluctant to allow cases against Israeli combatants to move forward, under the pretext that the alleged crime was not committed on their territory and the suspect isn’t a national.

He believes the Hind Rajab Foundation has a role to play in convincing them to apply universal jurisdiction where they can.

“Most countries have the tendency to say: ‘this is not our problem, go elsewhere, go to the ICC or go to Israel itself’,” Abou Jahjah explains.

“We’re trying to enter that debate with them, trying to convince them, trying to actually educate them on the fact that they have jurisdiction,” he adds.

“I think it’s important to keep doing that because we need to change the mindset of prosecutors and judges, and eventually also politicians in many countries around the world in terms of how they look at international law.”

In addition to using national court systems, Hind Rajab Foundation lawyers filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against more than 1,000 soldiers in October 2024, including evidence that Abou Jahjah says will remain in the court’s archive permanently and assist with related cases.

The ICC is the world’s only permanent international court with the jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.

But the ICC is a court of last resort, operating under the principle of complementarity, which means that it only intervenes when states are unwilling or unable to prosecute suspects.

It also follows a gravity threshold, typically targeting senior officials and commanders responsible for the most serious crimes rather than soldiers and lower-ranking officers.

Prosecuting Israeli officials

But seeking to prosecute senior officials and commanders is also part of the organisation’s work, Abou Jahjah says.

This includes an ICC case brought by the group against Israel’s military attache in Belgium, Colonel Moshe Tetro, who had previously served as the commander of the Israeli military unit accused of orchestrating famine in Gaza during the early months of the war.

Following reports about the case, Israel’s ambassador to Belgium denied the accusations against Tetro.

“There was no objection to his appointment and he received full diplomatic accreditation,” Israeli Ambassador Idit Rosenzweig-Abu told the Belgian newspaper De Morgen. “Israel acts according to international law.”

The Israeli military, meanwhile, decribed Tetro as a “highly respected and distinguishe officer” and said it “strongly rejects allegations of war crimes”.

Another case was filed against Major General Ghassan Alian, head of Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees civilian activities in Gaza such as aid distribution, while he was visiting Rome in January.

The complaint accused him of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes over his leading role in enforcing and supervising Israel’s total siege on Gaza following the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Alian also publicly referred to Palestinians in Gaza as “human animals”, demonstrating his genocidal intent, the group said.

In Tetro’s case, prosecuting him before a Belgian court would be prevented by his diplomatic immunity. But he has no immunity before the ICC, since Belgium is a state party to the court’s statute.

The ICC in November issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, who was then defence minister, for several charges: primarily the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.

Abou Jahjah expects the ICC to issue additional warrants for Tetro and Ailan because they were the executioners of Netanyahu’s and Gallant’s orders on the ground.

These efforts may take years to bear fruit, he says, but they are worth the wait.

“It’s an important fight and we will keep doing this.”

Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond.

14 February 2025

Source: middleeasteye.net

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

Palestinian prisoners burned the uniforms they were forced to wear upon release, highlighting Israel’s mistreatment and fueling criticism of its prison policies.

Freed Palestinian prisoners burned on Saturday the uniforms that Israeli prison authorities forced them to wear before their release.

The clothing, bearing Israeli symbols and phrases, sparked widespread anger in Palestine and criticism in Israel.

On Saturday morning, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN) published images showing the prisoners in white shirts printed with the Star of David, the Israeli Prison Service logo, and the phrase “We do not forget and we do not forgive” on both sides.

The Israeli Prison Service not only compelled the prisoners to wear these shirts but also took photographs of them in what has been described as a humiliating manner.

The prisoners were forced to kneel with their heads lowered, while other images captured them lined up inside a prison yard, surrounded by barbed wire.

[https://twitter.com/PalestineChron/status/1890751420581740885]

This incident occurred shortly after the release of Israeli detainees from Gaza, who were handed over to the Red Cross in clean, well-kept clothing and carrying gifts.

Upon arriving at the courtyard of the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, several freed prisoners set fire to the Israeli-marked clothing, as their families and supporters chanted in a collective rejection of the occupation’s attempt to impose its symbolism on them.

Hamas Condemns Israeli Actions

The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas denounced Israel’s actions, stating that forcing Palestinian prisoners to wear shirts with racist slogans before their release was part of an ongoing campaign of humiliation.

This occurred during the sixth batch of the prisoner exchange deal under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

In an official statement, Hamas condemned “the occupation’s crime of imposing racist slogans on the backs of our heroic prisoners and subjecting them to cruelty and violence, in blatant violation of humanitarian laws and norms.”

[https://twitter.com/PalestineChron/status/1890732477750055294]

Israel’s decision, according to the statement, contrasted this with the resistance’s commitment to moral values in the treatment of Israeli detainees.

Hamas further emphasized that the release of three Israeli captives earlier on Saturday places Tel Aviv under the obligation to abide by the agreement and humanitarian protocol and move forward with negotiations for the second phase without stalling.

Islamic Jihad’s Response

The Islamic Jihad Movement also strongly condemned “the latest racist crime committed by the occupation forces against the freed Palestinian prisoners.”

The group stated that beyond this disgraceful act, Israeli media deliberately broadcast the images to further humiliate the prisoners, describing it as a desperate attempt to break their will.

They characterized it as “a flagrant violation of all international and humanitarian laws, revealing the occupation’s racist, inhumane nature and deep-seated hatred.”

Islamic Jihad further noted the stark contrast between the treatment of prisoners by both sides: “The world saw how the resistance treated the enemy’s prisoners with dignity and respect. Their release was orderly, and no harm came to them, unlike the systematic abuse suffered by our heroic prisoners.”

The military spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, Abu Hamza, reinforced this message, stating: “The resistance upholds ethical treatment of prisoners, while the enemy specializes in torturing ours.”

He pointed out that forcing Palestinian prisoners to wear degrading clothing and subjecting them to harsh conditions illustrates the brutality of Israeli treatment.

Abu Hamza called on the United States not to ignore these horrific scenes of systematic abuse and killings of Palestinian prisoners, whom he described as “the rightful owners of the land.”

He urged the US to demand that Israel release all Palestinian prisoners, just as it insists on the release of all Israeli detainees.

[https://twitter.com/PalestineChron/status/1890755513077342610]

Prisoner Exchange and Stalled Agreements

Earlier in the day, the Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades handed over three Israeli detainees, including two dual nationals (one American and one Russian), to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Red Cross then transferred them to the Israeli army as part of the sixth batch of the prisoner exchange agreement.

The transfer of this batch had been delayed the previous week due to Israel’s failure to adhere to the humanitarian protocol of the ceasefire agreement.

In response, Al-Qassam announced on Monday that it was freezing the release of Israeli prisoners until Israel ceased its violations.

Israeli Criticism of Prison Service

Within Israel, KAN reported that the treatment of Palestinian prisoners sparked internal criticism of the Prison Service, particularly regarding the clothing they were made to wear.

The report indicated that Israeli political leadership was unaware of the Prison Service’s decision to dress prisoners in these uniforms, which led to backlash.

Critics pointed out that the decision undermined Israel’s efforts to contrast its treatment of prisoners with that of Hamas, following the well-documented humane release of Israeli detainees by the Palestinian resistance.

[https://twitter.com/PalestineChron/status/1890832248775282837]

Violations of the Ceasefire Agreement

Hamas has accused Israel of violating the agreement on four major fronts: targeting and killing Palestinians; delaying the return of displaced people to northern Gaza; blocking the entry of humanitarian aid, including shelter supplies, fuel, and rubble-removal equipment needed to recover bodies; Delaying critical medical supplies necessary to restore hospitals and the health sector.

As tensions escalated, efforts were made in recent days to salvage the agreement. On Thursday, Hamas stated that mediators from Egypt and Qatar had intervened to resolve these disputes, and it described the atmosphere of negotiations as positive.

Hamas reiterated that it remains committed to implementing the agreement as originally signed, including the prisoner exchanges according to the specified timetable.

However, despite assurances from mediators, no mobile homes or heavy machinery for rubble removal had entered Gaza by Friday, as stipulated in the humanitarian protocol, according to Gaza’s government media office.

On Thursday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 763 trucks entered Gaza but did not provide details on their contents or whether they fulfilled the necessary humanitarian commitments.

Today I Am Palestinian, Tomorrow I Am Palestinian! | Interview w/ Ahmet Davutoğlu

15 February 2025

Source: palestinechronicle.com

My dear Aung San Suu Kyi,

I am now elderly, decrepit and formally retired, but breaking my vow to remain silent on public affairs out of profound sadness about the plight of the Muslim minority in your country, the Rohingya.

In my heart you are a dearly beloved younger sister. For years I had a photograph of you on my desk to remind me of the injustice and sacrifice you endured out of your love and commitment for Myanmar’s people. You symbolised righteousness. In 2010 we rejoiced at your freedom from house arrest, and in 2012 we celebrated your election as leader of the opposition.

Your emergence into public life allayed our concerns about violence being perpetrated against members of the Rohingya. But what some have called “ethnic cleansing” and others “a slow genocide” has persisted – and recently accelerated. The images we are seeing of the suffering of the Rohingya fill us with pain and dread.

We know that you know that human beings may look and worship differently – and some may have greater firepower than others – but none is superior and none inferior; that when you scratch the surface we are all the same, members of one family, the human family; that there are no natural differences between Buddhists and Muslims, and that whether we are Jews or Hindus, Christians or atheists, we are born to love, without prejudice. Discrimination doesn’t come naturally; it is taught.

My dear sister: If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep. A country that is not at peace with itself, that fails to acknowledge and protect the dignity and worth of all its people, is not a free country.

It is incongruous for a symbol of righteousness to lead such a country; it is adding to our pain.

As we witness the unfolding horror we pray for you to be courageous and resilient again. We pray for you to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people. We pray for you to intervene in the escalating crisis and guide your people back towards the path of righteousness again.

God bless you.

Love

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu DM

Photos: Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (Reuters) and Aung San Suu Kyi (Reuters)

8 September 2017

Source: dailymaverick.co.za

By Ranjan Solomon

Here is revenge- Trump styled! The US has imposed sanctions on Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to that effect. The US Treasury Department stated in a release that it imposed sanctions on Khan under the provisions of the executive order issued by Trump on February 6, which mandates punishment of the ICC for issuing arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Big powers prefer to punish weaker nations by imposing illegal and unethical means to bring them to obey who they still believe to be the ‘Master’ versus the Slave. In this case, the ICC/ICJ commands the higher moral grounds. Israel’s status and US support have no status except to try and bully. Netanyahu and Gallant deserve a large  slice of time in jail for their atrocities on well over 50,000 innocent civilians especially women and children. They are war criminals and one doe4s not even need to be a judge to figure that out.

Karim Khan is not alone in making his judgement. A group of eminent judges scrutinised the evidence provided by South Africa and supported by numerous other countries, and a vast body of civil society. Quite obviously the evidence is plausible. Add to that informed public opinion, and the voice of justice movements, trade unions, and students around the world, the case is well certified.

The streets, intellectuals, and all manner of social movements should heighten public opinion in their respective countries to lobby with their governments to ensure that the ICC is not restricted in any way to hand justice to the guilty.

Trump is a man out-of-touch with the world of reality. Trump 2 is a version that is far more dangerous than he was in his first term. First he knows too little about the world. This makes him a dangerous bully – someone who will act on the assumption that he is stronger than others. He will bring his own country to ruins for certain. He will lose his bets in the Middle East for certain. He has miscalculated his capacities. This is visible when one hears some of his press encounters. He has lost the plot because he never really had one. He tends to confuse deal-making with dialogue. Reality is not his forte to grasp. With his limited intellect, he is currently working to consolidate himself with a bunch of select bureaucrats and oligarchs. These are not people from the field of public service and experience. They are simply sycophants who are there to ensure they are in chorus when they act as ‘yes men’. It is a safe guess to claim that many of them will desert Trump when his ship starts sinking.

Trump is already tired and worn out. He slept in a church service and Melania had to keep him awake. His ideas have run out and the only thing one can expect is an outpouring of irrationality of ideas. This is dangerous because the man has his fingers that can press all the wrong buttons.

His ‘tariff gambles’ may work in countries here and there. But, by and large, he is being snubbed and the US has become the ‘joker of the pack’. China has firmly rejected all his propositions and countrered Trump’s tariffs  deals with checkmates that have made Trump nervous and fidgety.

After backing down on China’s punishing counter-tariffs,he tried desperately to call Xi Jinping on the phone. He got no response and that is reality. It may be too late for Trump to learn from errors of judgment. He lives in the evening of his life and the sun is setting on his capacities to think better and act more efficiently. A state of collapse and a US that loses influence and respect in the global community will soon arrive. Even his oligarch friends could well stumble and fall.

This weekend will demonstrate whether Trump’s threat that “ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE” of all hostages are not released at the same time! Trump does not want this release of hostages one at a  time. He has conveniently forgotten that on the other side, Israel has well over 1000 prisoners including hostages that have been detained without good reason. So Trump has once again made a threat he cannot keep.

Rifat Kassis, a well known social activist/human rights activist and political thinker/advisor and an eminent Christian leader says: “We may seem to be the weaker side militarily speaking. History attests to what have been called moral victories over mighty armies. The Americans have hardly ever won a war with all their sophisticated armoury. Their defeats have taught them nothing at all. To live in peace and justice, does not seem to fall within their scope of thinking.” Rifat Kassis adds: ” Recall the recent Gaza war. Who won? Gaza. Who lost? Israel. The country is now demoralised for many reasons. They have not told the truth to their people about the thousands of deaths on the Israeli side. They have hidden the truth about the hefty numbers that have fled with everything- bagt, baggage, money from their banks, investments, pension funds etc. Nothing remains. A microscopic few return to have a peek at whether there is any purpose saved by returning. A collapsing economy is not a good space to return to.” Kassis concludesA: “Not only have we won. We know it will be an uphill struggle. But we have the energy and resilience to protect what is our culture, heritage, and authentic ownership of the spaces. Most Jews have come from here, there, and everywhere. They don’t feel about the land as we Palestinians do. To us our land is mother. No wonder they can flee so easily and when they find it convenient. We, Palestinians, are here to stay” Forever”.

In solidarity

Ranjan Solomon
On behalf of MLN/Palestine Updates 14 February 2025