The FIDH recalls that this huge military operation is the biggest military action conducted by Israel in the Occupied Territories since Operation Defensive Shield in March 2002. The exodus of civilian people from Rafah began on Sunday and have been continuing since then. According to the United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), 1500 people have been displaced from the Rafah area.
The FIDH once again reaffirms that these killings of civilians and destructions of private properties in the Palestinian Occupied Territories constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war and amount to war crimes.
The FIDH urges the international community to intervene as soon as possible and uphold their legal obligation to ensure that the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people are protected.
Therefore, the FIDH is relaying the urgent request of its Palestinian member organizations, the Palestinian center for Human Rights in Gaza and Al Haq in Ramallah, to call upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 to take upon their responsibilities and
1. urge the Israeli authorities to immediately stop the escalation of violence against civilian populations in the Gaza Strip and the blatant violations of international humanitarian and human rights law
2. ensure that they are not enabling Israel’s violations by selling Israeli Authorities military or other equipment used in the commission of these violations
Furthermore, the FIDH is calling the Quartet (United Nations, European union, Russia, United States of America) to urge the Israeli authorities to conform to the standards of international humanitarian law and to the guidelines of the Road Map and to halt immediately the current military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Sidiki KABA
President