Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is urging the UN to blacklist Israel over systematic sexual violence and obstruction of investigations into alleged war crimes.
The grounds for the inclusion of Israel on the UN’s blacklist of entities suspected of perpetrating sexual violence in conflicts “are compelling,” the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has said.
At the same time, the rights group slammed Israel’s “consistent obstructions of all United Nations investigations” into allegations of rape and other forms of sexual violence since October 7, 2023, as “profoundly concerning.”
“These obstructions, coupled with substantial evidence indicating systematic and widespread acts of rape and other forms of sexual violence by Israeli forces against Palestinians, including prisoners and detainees, constitute grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law,” Euro-Med said in its latest report on Friday.
‘To Avoid Inquiry into Abuse’
Euro-Med Monitor cited the Israeli Haaretz newspaper as reporting on Wednesday that Israel has blocked a UN probe into “Hamassexual crimes” from October 7, to “avoid inquiry into the abuse of Palestinians.”
Israel must be added to UN’s sexual violence blacklist https://t.co/9bWgP4cMLw
— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) January 10, 2025
The UN’s special representative on conflict-related sexual violence, Pramila Patten, “asked to investigate Hamas’ alleged crimes on October 7 and towards the hostages, but Israel refused her request to access Israeli detention facilities to examine claims of IDF abuse,” reported Haaretz.
“Israeli women’s rights groups warn this could lead to Israel, instead of Hamas, being added to the UN’s sexual violence blacklist,” it added.
Concerns about Exposure
Euro-Med Monitor said this refusal “reportedly stems from concerns that a comprehensive investigation would expose Israel’s systematic use of mass rape against Palestinians, including women and children, as Patten had insisted that access to Israeli detention centres to investigate allegations against Israeli soldiers was a crucial requirement for the process.”
Israel’s refusal “is particularly striking,” added the rights body, given that Israeli civil society, until recently, “held a generally favourable view of Patten, and even called on her to revisit Israel.”
Israel blocks UN probe into Hamas sexual crimes from October 7 to avoid inquiry into abuse of Palestinianshttps://t.co/683hBUMghb
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) January 9, 2025
Euro-Med Monitor noted that Patten’s earlier report, published on March 11, 2024, marked “the only instance” in which the Israeli government has provided information to a UN inquiry into allegations of sexual violence. However, as clearly stated in the report, the mission’s mandate at that time was not investigative, it added.
‘Obstruction of Truth’
The report recommended that the Israeli government cooperate with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt), including East Jerusalem and Israel, as well as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), to facilitate comprehensive investigations into all alleged violations, said the organization, “especially after Israel denied these entities access and cooperation, as highlighted in the report.”
‘Heinous Crimes’ – UN Warns against Israeli Interference in Sexual Violence Investigations
“The Israeli obstruction of truth in this context was first evidenced in January 2024, when the Israeli government expressly prohibited Israeli doctors and relevant authorities from cooperating with the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, labeling the commission as ‘anti-Israeli and antisemitic,’” said Euro-Med Monitor.
Since then, according to the rights group, the Israeli government has “persistently maintained this obstructive stance, undermining the Commission’s efforts to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation.”
Manufacturing Consent
This, said Euro-Med Monitor, “constitutes a failure by Israel” to comply with its obligation under international law to cooperate with UN bodies. Israel was “also denying victims on both sides their right to justice and accountability for the alleged violations,” it said.
“Israel’s repeated refusal to cooperate with all UN investigations into sexual violence highlights the Israeli government’s exploitation of the allegations of this grave crime as a propaganda tool to manufacture consent for its full-fledged, live-streamed genocide,” said Ramy Abdu, Chairman of Euro-Med Monitor.
"A soldier forced a nurse to take off her trousers, then placed his hand on her. When she tried to resist, he struck her hard across the face"
Harrowing testimonies of field executions, sexual harassment by the Israeli army in northern Gazahttps://t.co/1jEYJVOa2A
— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) January 7, 2025
“Israel merely uses these allegations to shame and smear critics and deflect blame from its formidable crimes against humanity,” Abdu emphasized.
Euro-Med Monitor said that its team has, over the past 15 months, documented numerous instances of Israeli-perpetrated sexual violence, including rape and other forms of sexualized torture against Palestinian civilians, including individuals held at the notorious Sde Teiman detention center.
Rape by Police Dogs
The rights body cited at least one documented instance of a Palestinian detainee who was subjected to rape by Israeli police dogs at Sde Teiman.
“The soldiers later pulled a young man sitting to my right, forced him to sleep on the ground, and tied his hands and feet. Suddenly, the occupation soldiers let loose trained police dogs on the young man, who was subjected to rape by the dogs,” lawyer Fadi Saif al-Din Bakr, released on February 22, 2024 after 45 days of detention, told the Euro-Med Monitor team.
Rape and Torture at Israel’s Sde Teiman Concentration Camp – Video Analysis
“Throughout the entire ordeal I endured, this was among the most awful things that I witnessed,” the lawyer said.
Euro-Med Monitor also highlighted the case at Sde Teiman where a Palestinian detainee died after having been raped with a baton by Israeli occupation soldiers.
“These documented incidents provide strong evidence of the systematic and widespread nature of such atrocities, revealing that Israel has weaponised sexual violence as a deliberate tactic to destroy the Palestinian population’s morale,” emphasized the organization.
“This brutal act, along with many others, is unlikely to be investigated or prosecuted within Israel, and will be prevented from international scrutiny as Israel continues to block investigations into such crimes,” it added.
Reports by Global Bodies
Numerous reports from international, UN, and Israeli human rights organizations, including the UN Human Rights Office, Amnesty International, and B’Tselem, have documented Israel’s systematic and widespread use of torture and sexual violence against Palestinians, the organization stressed.
Rape of Palestinian Detainees in Israeli Prisons Systematic – Rights Group Concludes
Euro-Med Monitor also cited the June 2024 report by the UN CoI on the oPt, including East Jerusalem and Israel which “reached similar conclusions.”
It documented a “significant increase in the range, frequency, and severity of sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by Israeli Security Forces (ISF) against Palestinians” since October 7, 2023. The report further stated that this increase was “linked to an intent to punish and humiliate Palestinians,” said the rights body.
‘Crime of Genocide’
The Euro-Med Monitor team also recently documented horrific testimonies at Kamal Adwan Hospital regarding the sexual assault of civilians, including female medical staff and children. The victims were forced to remove their clothes and headscarves and subjected to humiliating body searches by male Israeli army personnel.
“These acts constitute components of the crime of genocide, as outlined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” stated the organization.
‘No Justification for Sexual Torture’ in Israeli Prisons – UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
Euro-Med Monitor called on the United Nations “to include Israel on its blacklist of entities involved in sexual violence in conflicts.”
“This call comes in light of substantial evidence documenting Israel’s systematic use of sexual violence, including rape and other forms of sexual abuse, as part of its broader campaign of annihilation against the Palestinian people,” said the rights body.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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