ICSPR: The Escalation of Israeli Crimes in Gaza and the West Bank Constitutes a Systematic Pattern of Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Creeping Colonial Annexation, Requiring International Intervention to Halt These Crimes and End Impunity
Date: 25 February 2025
Press Release
ICSPR: The Escalation of Israeli Crimes in Gaza and the West Bank Constitutes a Systematic Pattern of Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Creeping Colonial Annexation, Requiring International Intervention to Halt These Crimes and End Impunity
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) strongly condemns the continued military violations in the Gaza Strip, including airstrikes, artillery shelling, and gunfire, which over the past 24 hours resulted in the killing of (9) civilians, including (6) whose bodies were recovered from under the rubble, and the injury of (4) others. This comes amid ongoing escalation that undermines any talk of a genuine ceasefire and leaves civilians under constant threat, with the continuation of slow-moving destruction, the collapse of the health and service systems, widespread poverty and unemployment, and a deepening humanitarian catastrophe.
ICSPR notes that the cumulative number of victims since 7 October 2023 has risen to (72,082) killed, while the number of injured has reached (171,761), in addition to thousands still missing under the rubble. These figures reflect an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the modern history of the Gaza Strip and confirm the broad scope and systematic nature of the attacks, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity that require immediate international accountability before the International Criminal Court.
ICSPR clarifies that since the announcement of a ceasefire on 11 October, (618) civilians have been killed and (1,663) injured, in addition to (732) bodies recovered from under the rubble. This indicates that danger persists and that the field environment does not provide real protection for civilians, in clear violation of the principles of distinction and proportionality stipulated in the Geneva Conventions.
ICSPR warns of the worsening health crisis, as approximately (20,000) wounded and sick individuals are awaiting urgent medical evacuation amid restrictions on movement and obstruction of the return of stranded persons and medical referrals. This exposes patients and the injured to grave danger and constitutes a direct violation of the right to health and medical care, undermining the obligations of the occupying power under international humanitarian law.
ICSPR condemns the continued prevention of the entry of temporary housing units, plastic tents, and heavy machinery, which has exacerbated the humanitarian disaster with rainfall flooding displaced persons’ tents. Two-thirds of the population of the Gaza Strip are living in displacement conditions lacking the most basic elements of dignified life, underscoring the persistence of collective punishment and deliberate humanitarian coercion aimed at rendering the Strip uninhabitable and deepening societal collapse.
ICSPR expresses grave concern over the continued obstruction of humanitarian aid entry. According to United Nations data, only (43) humanitarian movements out of (67) requests were approved this month, with (9) requests completely denied and (7) canceled for operational and security reasons. This reflects systematic restrictions that transform basic needs into tools of political pressure, in explicit violation of the obligation to facilitate relief passage without arbitrary delay.
ICSPR warns of the serious consequences of the suspension of the World Central Kitchen’s activities in the Gaza Strip due to the reduction of truck entries from (25) to (5) per day, in addition to pressure to purchase raw materials from inside Israel instead of allowing their entry via Egypt. This increases operational costs, complicates humanitarian work, and threatens the continuity of meals for thousands of families amid unprecedented levels of food insecurity.
ICSPR condemns the escalation of settler attacks in the West Bank, including the burning of homes, tents, and civilian property in Masafer Yatta, the burning of mosques, and repeated assaults by armed settler militias against residents, alongside arbitrary arrest campaigns targeting dozens of Palestinians, including children. These actions occur within a policy framework aimed at forced displacement and demographic engineering as part of a clear trajectory of creeping annexation of the West Bank and the imposition of facts on the ground by force.
ICSPR strongly condemns the opening of a branch of the U.S. Embassy in the settlement of Efrat or the provision of consular services within settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, considering this an implicit recognition of an unlawful settlement reality and a dangerous precedent that violates the principle of non-recognition of situations arising from serious breaches of international law. Such actions entrench an unlawful colonial reality, undermine the international legal order, and encourage the consolidation of illegal facts on the ground.
ICSPR strongly condemns the continued discussion in the Knesset of a bill to impose the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners and the adoption of amendments aimed at shielding it from judicial review. This represents a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the right to life, constituting a grave violation of fair trial guarantees and reflecting a tendency to entrench punitive legislation of a retaliatory nature against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.
ICSPR highlights the grave concern regarding the lack of accountability for crimes targeting journalists. It has been documented that (129) journalists were killed worldwide during 2025, two-thirds of whom were Palestinian journalists. Approximately (60) journalists remain detained, in addition to the blocking of websites and the continued ban on the entry of foreign journalists into the Gaza Strip. This reflects attempts to undermine field testimony and weaken mechanisms of oversight and international accountability.
ICSPR warns against proposals linking humanitarian aid, the opening of crossings, the lifting of the blockade, and reconstruction to the disarmament of factions, considering this a form of political coercion that pressures civilians and deprives them of their humanitarian rights. Such approaches shift the core of the issue from the right to self-determination and ending the occupation to fragmented security tracks. ICSPR affirms that any arrangements must be within a comprehensive political solution based on withdrawal from Gaza, reconstruction, ending the occupation, and guaranteeing the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
ICSPR affirms that the totality of these crimes and violations in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the occupied interior constitute an integrated pattern of policies aimed at imposing control by force, deepening humanitarian suffering, consolidating settlement expansion and creeping annexation, and weakening the international protection system. It reiterates that protecting civilians is not a political option but a legal and moral obligation, and that continued silence or mere expressions of concern are disproportionate to the gravity of the crimes committed. Delayed justice effectively opens the door to further violations and undermines the entire international legal order.
Accordingly, ICSPR calls upon the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and all States Parties to the Geneva Conventions to fulfill their legal obligations, take immediate measures to halt the crimes, ensure the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid and shelter supplies, secure international protection for the Palestinian people, and activate accountability mechanisms before the International Criminal Court to guarantee an end to impunity and safeguard the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
