The UN experts have raised concerns of Palestinian women and girls reportedly subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, including multiple forms of sexual assault and rape.
A group of UN experts has called for allegations of human rights violations against Palestinian women and girls in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank to be investigated.
In a statement on Monday, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it had received information that Palestinian women and girls have “reportedly been arbitrarily executed in Gaza, often together with family members, including their children.”
The experts said they were “shocked by reports of the deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killing of Palestinian women and children in places where they sought refuge, or while fleeing.”
“Some of them were reportedly holding white pieces of cloth when they were killed by the Israeli army or affiliated forces,” they added.
Amongst the “hundreds of Palestinian women and girls” detained are “human rights defenders, journalists and humanitarian workers, in Gaza and the West Bank since 7 October,” the statement said.
Many have reportedly been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, denied menstruation pads, food and medicine, and severely beaten, the experts stressed.
“On at least one occasion, Palestinian women detained in Gaza were allegedly kept in a cage in the rain and cold, without food.”
Sexual Assault and Rape
The experts said they “are particularly distressed by reports that Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers.”
“At least two female Palestinian detainees were reportedly raped while others were reportedly threatened with rape and sexual violence,” the experts stated.
They also noted that “photos of female detainees in degrading circumstances were also reportedly taken by the Israeli army and uploaded online.”
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Concerns have also been raised about an unknown number of Palestinian women and children, including girls, who have reportedly gone missing after contact with the Israeli army in Gaza.
“There are disturbing reports of at least one female infant forcibly transferred by the Israeli army into Israel, and of children being separated from their parents, whose whereabouts remain unknown,” they said.
Impartial Investigation
The UN experts stressed that “We remind the Government of Israel of its obligation to uphold the right to life, safety, health, and dignity of Palestinian women and girls and to ensure that no one is subjected to violence, torture, ill-treatment or degrading treatment, including sexual violence.”
They called for “an independent, impartial, prompt, thorough and effective investigation” into the allegations and for Israel to cooperate with such investigations.
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“Taken together, these alleged acts may constitute grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and amount to serious crimes under international criminal law that could be prosecuted under the Rome Statute,” the experts said.
“Those responsible for these apparent crimes must be held accountable and victims and their families are entitled to full redress and justice,” they added.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
” blood libel ” ???