Gaza - Saba:
151 human rights and civil society organizations from various Arab countries have demanded the release of the activists on the "Madeleine" ship and called for the entry of aid into Gaza.
Hashed affirmed in a statement that the crimes of genocide committed by the occupation against the residents of the Gaza Strip include the killing of children and women, the targeting of families, the destruction of infrastructure and shelters, and the imposition of a comprehensive blockade and starvation with the intent of partially or completely annihilating the population of the Strip.
It noted that the death toll has reached more than 53,000, in addition to approximately 100,000 wounded, the destruction of more than 80% of residential buildings, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands within the Strip.
In defiance of global solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation forces hijacked the Madeleine ship, which was carrying food aid to those under siege in the Gaza Strip, at dawn on Monday, June 9. In this context, the undersigned organizations condemn the Israeli occupation forces' abduction of the activists and solidarity activists on board the ship.
The statement noted that the continued international inability to stop these crimes, most recently embodied by the Security Council's failure to adopt a resolution to halt the aggression due to the US veto for the fifty-eighth time since 1947 against the rights of the Palestinian people, reflects alarming complicity with the brutal occupation regime in the Palestinian territories.
The undersigned bodies, including the United Nations and regional organizations, also called on them to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the implementation of the rules and norms of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and to activate the mandates of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
The statement emphasized that the continued blockade of the Gaza Strip and the denial of humanitarian supplies constitute a crime against humanity under international law, particularly in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, specifically Article (33) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits collective punishment, and Security Council Resolution 2417, which condemns the use of starvation as a weapon of armed conflict.
The undersigned organizations called for urgent action by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, the Special Rapporteur on the right to health, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to exert all forms of diplomatic and legal pressure to ensure the lifting of the blockade on Gaza and to hold the occupying authorities accountable before the competent international bodies.
The organizations also called for full solidarity with the international activists aboard the Madeleine, calling for their immediate release and ensuring their safety. They also called for encouraging the dispatch of more freedom flotillas and foot marches to the Rafah crossing and the maritime borders to break the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.
They also called for escalating popular and diplomatic pressure campaigns in world capitals and UN institutions to halt the aggression, end the blockade, and achieve justice for the victims.
The statement emphasized that every day that passes under the deadly siege is a new day of suffering and unjustified death, emphasizing that international silence does not constitute neutrality, but rather complicity in the crime.
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