The International Commission (Hashd) 107 Years Since the Infamous Balfour Declaration, the Primary Cause of Historical Injustice Against the Palestinian People, Evident in the Ongoing Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza

Date: 2 Nov 2024

Press Release

The International Commission (Hashd) 107 Years Since the Infamous Balfour Declaration, the Primary Cause of Historical Injustice Against the Palestinian People, Evident in the Ongoing Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza

The 107th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which deprived the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination and facilitated the establishment of the Israeli occupation state, continues to remind us of the forced displacement of Palestinian refugees from their homes due to repeated Israeli massacres and ongoing crimes over the decades. Today, as the Israeli aggression continues for the 393rd day, Gaza faces genocide, ethnic cleansing, siege, starvation, and a range of war crimes and collective punishments amounting to crimes against humanity. This aggression has resulted in the deaths of nearly 60,000 martyrs and missing persons, over 100,000 injured, the detention of more than 15,000 people (with around 7,000 still imprisoned), and the forced displacement of over 2 million people, with approximately 85% of Gaza’s homes and structures destroyed. Furthermore, Israel continues to violate all political, civil, economic, social, and cultural rights of Palestinians across the occupied territories, with acts of apartheid, expansionist settlements, land confiscation, home demolitions, and the targeting of religious sites. This includes measures that partition and control access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as intensified settler terrorism, arbitrary arrests, torture, and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees. Since October 7, 2023, the occupation forces have executed 760 Palestinians, wounded about 7,000, and detained around 11,000 people in the West Bank alone.

The Balfour anniversary reminds Palestinians and the world of the active support provided by the United States, the United Kingdom, and other colonial-influenced European nations to the Zionist project. Their ongoing support for the Israeli state in defiance of international humanitarian law, human rights norms, and UN resolutions concerning Palestine, grants Israel the green light to continue its unprecedented genocidal campaign against Gaza and the rest of Palestine, as well as Lebanon. The occupation forces use internationally banned weapons, starvation tactics, and scorched-earth policies, severely impacting civilians and displacing people to such an extent that Gaza’s population struggles to secure drinking water or food. With extreme crowding at bakeries and water stations, residents are left with one loaf of bread and barely a liter of undrinkable water if available. Furthermore, signs of infectious diseases and epidemics are increasing among displaced persons, especially in overcrowded shelters, forewarning a health and environmental disaster, exacerbated by thousands of bodies still under the rubble.

For 29 consecutive days, occupation forces have imposed a total siege on northern Gaza, conducting a relentless land, air, and sea assault that has seen mass killings of Palestinian families, the destruction of shelters, and targeted attacks on hospitals and essential humanitarian services. This aligns with the occupiers’ goal to empty and forcibly displace northern Gaza’s population. Additionally, Israel openly defies international law by refusing to implement the resolutions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and relevant UN resolutions, while targeting the UN and its agencies, including UNRWA. The occupation subjects UNRWA to constant incitement, accusations, and violence, as well as legislating its prohibition in the occupied territories. These actions pose catastrophic humanitarian consequences for the Palestinian refugee community, particularly in Gaza, which depends on UNRWA’s assistance and relief services—an evident attempt to erase the Palestinian refugee issue.

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (Hashd) reminds the international community of the historical injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people by the British mandate, facilitating the establishment of a national home for the Zionist movement at the expense of Palestinian rights. This led to massacres by Zionist militias and the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948, which displaced nearly a million Palestinians. Since then, the occupation’s atrocities in Palestine have continued unabated, while the international community has failed to pressure Israel to implement UN resolutions. This inaction has effectively signaled to Israel that it may proceed with its crimes. The International Commission (Hashd) strongly condemns the United States’ partnership in Israel’s genocidal war, and the double standards, politicization of international law, and the conspiracy of silence that leaves Palestinians facing relentless crimes and massacres. Therefore, the Commission makes the following calls to action:

1. The International Commission (Hashd) calls on the international community and the United Nations to fulfill their legal and moral obligations by ending Israeli war crimes, genocide, and collective punishment in Gaza and other occupied territories. It urges enforcement of international humanitarian law and human rights principles to ensure the protection of civilians and implement ICJ and international resolutions concerning Palestine to end over 107 years of Palestinian suffering.
2. The International Commission (Hashd) demands that the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions pressure Israel to assume its responsibilities, respect humanitarian law and the laws of war, open humanitarian corridors, restore electricity and water supplies, and allow for the evacuation of the injured and the entry of humanitarian aid, medical supplies, and fuel to operate hospitals, water stations, and Gaza’s power plant.
3. The International Commission (Hashd) urges the United Kingdom to bear its legal, ethical, and humanitarian responsibility by apologizing to the Palestinian people, compensating them for the pains and suffering resulting from the Balfour Declaration, ceasing military, political, and economic support for Israel, and recognizing Palestinian rights. Britain’s role in the Palestinian catastrophe and that of its allies who continue to support Israel constitute ongoing international crimes.
4. The International Commission (Hashd) calls on world nations and international and regional organizations to seriously mobilize humanitarian assistance and provide international protection for children, women, journalists, medical teams, and hospitals. It also urges decisive humanitarian intervention to end the brutal killing of civilians and uphold international humanitarian principles.
5. The International Commission (Hashd) requests that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court expedite investigations into the ongoing war crimes, genocide, and collective punishment to end the impunity of those responsible for these grave violations.
6. The International Commission (Hashd) calls on human rights activists and organizations, along with global advocates of justice, to enhance solidarity with the Palestinian people and sustain peaceful mobilization efforts to pressure the international community to halt Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and protect civilians.
7. The International Commission (Hashd) urges Palestinian leadership and all national factions to unite quickly, form a collective leadership, establish a national unity government, and strategize to enhance Palestinian resilience. Efforts should include thwarting Israeli plans of forced displacement, annexation of the West Bank, and sovereignty over Jerusalem, as well as pushing for internationalization of the struggle, including active work with the UN and Geneva Conventions’ High Contracting Parties to secure civilian protection, boycott, sanction Israel, and hold it accountable for its crimes under international jurisdiction, ICJ, and ICC proceedings.

End

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (Hashd)