On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Amnesty International reiterates its call for global action to end the system of apartheid which Israeli authorities enforce against Palestinians with impunity. This system has become increasingly violent and oppressive over the past year – in the West Bank, Israeli forces have killed 127 Palestinians since January and injured hundreds more, and there has also been a surge in assaults and violence against Palestinians by state-backed settlers.
Israeli authorities have ramped up their use of administrative detention to hold Palestinians without charge or trial, and intensified their attacks on Palestinian civil society organizations. In Gaza, the Israeli military’s August offensive exacerbated the dire humanitarian crisis generated by Israel’s ongoing illegal blockade.
“Today and every day, Amnesty International stands with Palestinians as they demand their rights in the face of Israel’s relentless attacks. We call on our supporters around the world to demonstrate their solidarity by speaking out, however they can, to demand an end to Israel’s apartheid,” said Shenilla Mohamed, Amnesty International South Africa Executive Director.
“With violations by Israeli authorities mounting and Palestinian civil society under unprecedented assault, Palestinians need international support now more than ever. We are urging the international community to suspend any form of support, whether direct or indirect, through action or inaction, to Israel’s apartheid system.”
The deteriorating situation for Palestinians in the West Bank
Israeli forces have ramped up military activity in the West Bank this year, carrying out hundreds of violent raids and imposing several new closures tightening movement restrictions to a chokehold. According to the UN, 2022 is the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since at least 2005. Israeli forces have killed 127 Palestinians so far this year, including many children.
The surge in violent attacks against Palestinians by state-backed settlers
Israeli settlers carried out hundreds of violent attacks on Palestinians during the recent olive harvest season – physically assaulting people, uprooting or torching thousands of olive trees, and smashing up cars and homes under the protection of the Israeli military.
The sharp increase in administrative detention orders
In 2022 so far, the Israeli authorities have issued 1,789 administrative detention orders, according to Palestinian organization Addameer, continuing a sharp upward trend. As of 26 November, there are 820 Palestinians being held indefinitely in Israeli prisons, without charge or trial, on the basis of undisclosed “secret” information. Administrative detainees include Salah Hammouri, a French-Palestinian human rights defender and lawyer who has been detained since 7 March 2022.
The humanitarian crisis and systematic unlawful attacks in the Gaza Strip
In August 2022, Israeli forces killed, injured and displaced yet more civilians in apparent war crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip, as documented in an Amnesty International briefing.
Israel’s campaign to crush Palestinian civil society
In August 2022, Israeli forces raided the offices of Addameer, Al-Haq, Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Health Work Committees, and the Union of Palestinian Women Committees, and confiscated files and equipment. They issued military orders to close the offices and welded shut their doors. Last year, these organizations were designated as “terrorist” under Israeli law.
Ongoing demolitions and forced evictions.
In Masafer Yatta in the West Bank, 1150 people are at risk of forced displacement by Israeli authorities. Last week, Israeli forces demolished a school in the area, robbing 23 children of their right to education. If Israel goes ahead with planned demolitions and expulsions in Masafer Yatta it will amount to forcible transfer, a crime against humanity. Also last week, Israeli authorities demolished the unrecognized Palestinian Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev/Naqab for the 209th time. These are just two recent examples, among thousands.
For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Genevieve Quintal, Media and Communications Officer, Amnesty International South Africa: +27 (0)64 890 9224; genevieve.quintal@amnesty.org.za
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