Pull The Plug On The Political Economy Enabling Israel’s Crimes - Briefing
Amnesty International is calling on states, international, municipal and other public institutions and bodies (“public institutions”), and companies and other private organizations (“companies”), to step up their pressure on Israel to abide by its international obligations and put an end to the genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the unlawful military occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and its system of apartheid against all Palestinians whose rights it controls. States, public institutions and companies must live up to their legal obligations and responsibilities under international law and standards, as laid out in a range of international decisions and resolutions. The public at large must demand that they do so.
The actions and commitments of everyone – states, public institutions, companies and the public – must match the gravity of the situation amidst a staggering loss of Palestinian lives, the irreparable damage caused to Palestinians, including through extreme dehumanization and continuous violations of international law with impunity, and repeated attacks against the universal values and international obligations that are the foundations of the global multilateral system.
In February 2022, Amnesty International published an investigation that detailed how massive seizures of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer, drastic movement restrictions, and the denial of the right to return, nationality and citizenship to Palestinians are all components of a system of apartheid under international law. This system is maintained by violations which Amnesty International found to constitute apartheid as a crime against humanity, as defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Apartheid Convention.
In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that there was a real and imminent risk of irreparable harm to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention and ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocidal acts. The ICJ also affirmed that all states have an obligation to prevent, suppress and punish genocide. The Court reiterated and expanded these provisional measures in two further orders in March and May 2024. Israel has failed to comply with these orders. In July 2024, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion declaring that Israel’s occupation of the OPT is unlawful and that its discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians in the OPT violate the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid.
In December 2024, Amnesty International found that Israel had been and was continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, and there has been since then a growing consensus among experts throughout the international community that genocide is occurring. In December 2024, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that called for the “withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem; the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination and the right to their independent state;” and for states “[n]ot to render aid or assistance to illegal settlement activities, including not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements” in the OPT. In September 2024, the UN General Assembly had passed a resolution where it set a 12-month timeline for Israel to withdraw from the OPT.
Yet, while the public opinion has been consistently and vocally demanding an end to Israel’s violations of Palestinians’ rights, to date states, public institutions and companies have failed to act on these decisions and their obligations and responsibilities under international law and standards.
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