ICSPR on the International Day of Cooperatives: The absence of international cooperation to end the occupation and stop the genocide in Gaza undermines the values of human solidarity and threatens global peace

Date: July 5, 2025

On the occasion of the International Day of Cooperatives, (ICSPR):

The absence of international cooperation to end the occupation and stop the genocide in Gaza undermines the values of human solidarity and threatens global peace.

The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR) extends its warmest greetings to the Palestinian people everywhere, to all freedom-loving individuals around the world, and to all those who believe in the values of justice and human rights, on the occasion of the International Day of Cooperatives, marked annually on July 5. This day embodies the principle of partnership, international solidarity, and cooperation in facing shared challenges, achieving sustainable development, and promoting respect for international law and human rights worldwide.

The International Day of Cooperatives serves as an important ethical and political milestone to assess the extent of the international community’s commitment to its responsibilities in light of global crises—foremost among them, the Palestinian cause, which has become a true test of the credibility of the international system and its institutions, and their adherence to the United Nations Charter and relevant international covenants and declarations.

It has become evident that the ongoing Israeli colonial and racist occupation, and the continuation of the genocidal war and brutal aggression against Palestinian civilians—especially in the Gaza Strip—constitute a blatant violation of the principles of international cooperation. It reflects a dangerous abandonment of the legal and moral obligations of the international community, which has failed to confront the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and racial discrimination. Since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, have been subjected to systematic Israeli aggression and a continuing genocide, which has so far resulted in over 75,000 martyrs and missing persons, including more than 18,000 children and 13,000 women, as well as 130,000 wounded, many of whom suffer from permanent disabilities amidst the collapse of healthcare services.

The Israeli occupation has destroyed more than 380,000 housing units, and 85% of public and private properties. The entire infrastructure has been devastated, including water, electricity, and sewage networks. Moreover, 34 hospitals, 160 health centers, 150 ambulances, 465 schools and universities, and 94% of agricultural lands and economic facilities have been destroyed.

Aggravating the catastrophe further, the systematic blockade has led to widespread famine and food insecurity affecting 90% of the population, with over 5,000 deaths recorded due to hunger and chronic illnesses. Hepatitis outbreaks have surpassed 71,000 cases due to disastrous displacement conditions.

Meanwhile, the occupation authorities continue to escalate their crimes in the West Bank through repeated raids, extrajudicial killings, mass arrests and torture, the systematic Judaization of Jerusalem, land confiscation, and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over Islamic and Christian holy sites, while empowering settler militias as part of plans to annex the West Bank without its inhabitants.

In light of this catastrophic reality, ICSPR sees the international community’s failure—particularly that of the UN and influential states—to fulfill its responsibilities in stopping Israeli crimes and holding perpetrators accountable as a serious regression from the philosophy of international cooperation. It reproduces a reality of impunity, weakens international legitimacy, and threatens global peace and security. ICSPR affirms that these ongoing crimes not only threaten Palestinians, but also undermine universal human values and turn the system of international cooperation into empty slogans with no practical substance.

ICSPR stresses that international cooperation must be measured not by symbolic statements, but by practical measures that ensure the end of genocide, lifting of the blockade, provision of international protection, and restoration of Palestinian rights. The continued absence of genuine international cooperation in response to what is happening in Palestine, especially in Gaza, not only fails the victims—it also threatens the entire system of human values, placing the world at a historical crossroads that demands a global struggle against the Israeli-American law of the jungle and a reinforcement of humanitarian cooperation.

Accordingly, ICSPR demands the following:

1. ICSPR calls on the international community—its bodies and institutions—to translate its commitment to the principles of international cooperation into practical and immediate measures, including urgent pressure to halt the genocide, ensure civilian protection, open safe and permanent humanitarian corridors for food, water, and fuel without conditions, and hold Israeli war criminals and perpetrators of genocide, torture, and racial discrimination accountable.

2. ICSPR calls for the implementation of all relevant international resolutions concerning the Palestinian cause, foremost among them UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions 242, 338, and 194, as well as the advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice from 2004 and 2024, which declare the occupation illegal and stress the need to end it and compensate the Palestinian people.

3. ICSPR urges the rejection of double standards practiced by certain major powers—chiefly the United States and some European countries—in their approach to Palestinian rights and their continued political and military support for Israel.

4. ICSPR calls for the adoption of a unified Palestinian national strategy to restore unity and cooperation, strengthen civil peace, and rebuild the Palestinian political system on democratic and participatory foundations to enhance resilience and internal cohesion.

5. ICSPR calls for a global boycott of the occupying state, including the cessation of all political, economic, and military relations, and the imposition of sanctions leading to Israel’s expulsion from the United Nations until it complies with international law and ends its occupation.

6. ICSPR calls for recognizing the International Day of Cooperatives as a collective action opportunity for Palestine—by providing humanitarian support to Palestinians and Palestinian institutions to strengthen resilience, and by organizing advocacy initiatives, rights-based campaigns, and diplomatic and media actions to support the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

End
The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR)