The Palestinian
Association for Human Rights (Witness) has released a report documenting
explicit or implicit Israeli political and religious leaders calls for killing,
displacement, or implementation of apartheid against Palestinians. This report comes
amidst extensive crimes committed by the occupation army against Gaza.
According to the report, these crimes are directly associated with statements
made prior to or during the war on Gaza, indicating a comprehensive framework
of incitement to murder and forced displacement.
The report highlights explicit statements of Israeli ministers,
including Defense Minister Yaakov Galant, who openly called for imposing a
blockade on Gaza and adopting a policy of collective punishment. This official
declaration signifies the occupying army's intent to disregard the principles
of international humanitarian law. Additionally, the remarks of National
Security Minister Ben Gvir were observed, as he advocated for arming settlers
and promoting self-defense. This decision was interpreted as an official
authorization for settlers and soldiers to engage in killing Palestinians in
occupied West Bank and Jerusalem and mistreating them. This aligns with the
dramatically increasing number of killings against Palestinians since the
beginning of 2023.
The statements of the Israeli Minister of Heritage, Amihai Eliyahu, in
which he called for dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza Strip, have been considered
the most inciteful to the killing of Palestinians. Although the occupation
government took formal action against him, the number of civilian casualties,
along with widespread destruction to civilian neighborhoods and infrastructure,
clearly indicates that the occupation used explosives equivalent to three
nuclear bombs, according to military experts. This also means that the
statements of this minister are part of the same context.
As for the statements of the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, who
called for the establishment of buffer zones around settlements in the West
Bank and preventing Arabs from approaching them, they are a clear call for
implementing a policy of racial segregation, especially considering that the
settlements are considered illegal according to international law. This
minister has previously advocated for the burning of Hawara town.
According to the report, the political leaders' statements come amid
incitement from religious leaders openly advocating for the killing of
Palestinians. (Witness) affirmed in its report that the Israeli political and
religious environment is entirely conducive to committing crimes against
Palestinians, explaining the high rates of occupation crimes in the occupied
Palestinian territories.
The report by (Witness) raised questions about why Western leaders adopt
a discourse of hatred and incitement to murder, even finding justifications for
Israeli crimes. The report cited examples of statements by Western leaders
explicitly endorsing the Israeli narrative, such as the cutting off of the
heads of Israeli children, bombing the Baptist hospital, casting doubt on the
number of civilian Palestinian casualties, and the raid on Al-Shifa Hospital,
among others, without clear and substantiated evidence.
The report considered that Western behavior gives the greenlight for
Israeli occupation to kill civilians in Gaza Strip where over 11500 were killed,
mostly children and women before the Ministry of Health stopped counting. Moreover,
granting Israel the absolute right to self-defense, without adhering to
conditions set by United Nations serves as a Western cover for the policy of
indiscriminate killing of Palestinians.
The report questions why hate speech and incitement to murder are not
criminalized as international crimes under the Rome Statute. It warns that the
failure to criminalize hate speech and incitement to murder internationally
would encourage the commission of further crimes against humanity.
The report calls for the necessity of seeking an advisory opinion from
the International Court of Justice regarding incitement to murder and the
establishment of effective international mechanisms to combat hate speech and
incitement to murder. This includes setting up a United Nations-affiliated
mechanism to monitor and follow up on these issues.
Beirut, November 17, 2023
Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness)