We are posting articles that give context for what is happening in Gaza, along with our usual focus of how Israel uses water as a weapon.
Urgent statement by the Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council
October 8, 2023
As health and human rights workers and activists, we state unequivocally that the slaughter or capture of civilians is unconscionable regardless of who does it. This is truly a low moment born out of 75 years of oppression against Palestinians. For decades we have documented the realities on the ground in Israel/Palestine, the crushing occupation and siege in the West Bank and Gaza, the restrictions on medical permits, the de-development of the health care systems, and the unwillingness of Israel and the international community to address the root causes of the current situation. The consequences of Israel's settler colonial history, the clear establishment of an apartheid regime, including medical apartheid, the illegal occupation and denial of human rights and self-determination for Palestinians, has tragically led us to where we are today. While we grieve the horrific loss of life and massive numbers of injured, Hamas's attack was not "unprovoked" as reported in the mainstream media, it was the response of people who have been pushed beyond their ability to endure the impossible and the unconscionable.
Over the past 15 years, the Palestine Centre for Human Rights has documented at least six large-scale military assaults on Gaza, with compelling evidence that Israeli authorities committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians in Gaza. International law states that during hostilities "civilians and civilian objects must be protected against direct and indiscriminate attacks. Healthcare workers and health facilities must also be protected and may not be made the object of attack."
We join with Al-Haq, Al-Mezan, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) to support the following statement:
[We urge the] international community to take immediate and urgent action to stop Israel’s revenge and reprisal against Gaza’s civilian population and civilian objects. The latest statements by the Israeli establishment…portend an unprecedented number of killings, with civilians bearing the brunt. Accountability is the key to ending Israeli crimes, with Third States sharing responsibility for its consequences. We call on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to expedite the investigation into the Situation in Palestine with full resources and onsite visits as promised in December 2022. We stress that if no immediate action is taken by the international community to hold Israel accountable for the international crimes committed against the Palestinian people, more civilian casualties will follow, and destruction will continue to take place.
To this end, we call upon the UN Security Council, Third States, and UN Member States to immediately intervene with all necessary means to cease Israel’s attacks against
the Palestinian people, and to impose sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel. In line with international obligations, the international community must cooperate to bring Israel’s illegal occupation as a continuing act of aggression since 1967 to an end; ensure the dismantling of the occupying administration and the full and unconditional withdrawal of all Israeli occupying forces from the territory, and the dismantling of Israel’s apartheid regime.“The U.S. must focus on a political solution and de-escalation, not fuel violence by sending the Israeli military more weapons. US complicity in Israel’s occupation, blockade, and apartheid must end." JVP Action