Politics UN report accuses Israel of sexualized violence against Palestinians
In a UN report, a commission of experts accuses Israel of serious human rights violations involving sexual assaults as a means of oppressing and controlling the Palestinian population. Israel rejected the accusations. The Israeli embassy in Geneva stated that the commission was biased and deliberately applied lower standards to Israel than to other actors.
13.03.2025, 09:32
SDA
Among other things, the report documents cases of sexual assault and rape. People were also forced to undress in public. This was also done on the orders or with the tacit connivance of the military or civilian leadership, the report states.
In the Gaza Strip, health centers were systematically destroyed and the import of medicines and material for the care of pregnant women and newborns was prevented. As a result, children and women have died from complications. This is a crime against humanity. Preventing births also constitutes genocide.
Commission: violence to terrorize Palestinians
"One cannot escape the conclusion that Israel has used sexualized and gender-based violence against Palestinians in order to terrorize them and to maintain a system of oppression that undermines their right to self-determination," said Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission, in Geneva.
The Commission spoke with victims and witnesses and analyzed photographic and video material. It is concerned with events during Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, but also in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, 2023.
On that day, Palestinian terrorist groups murdered around 1,200 people in Israel in a large-scale attack and abducted dozens in the Gaza Strip. In June 2024, the commission published a report on violence and torture during the attack. According to the commission, Israel did not respond to inquiries.
Independent experts
The UN Human Rights Council established the panel of independent experts in 2021 to investigate "alleged violations of international humanitarian law" and "international human rights law" in Israel and the occupied territories. The commission is committed to ensuring that Israel is held accountable before international courts.
