ICSPR The Occupation Expands Crimes of Genocide, Siege, and Ethnic Cleansing Against the Palestinian People While Exploiting the World’s Distraction with the Regional War
Saturday, March 13, 2026
Press Release
ICSPR: The Occupation Expands Crimes of Genocide, Siege, and Ethnic Cleansing Against the Palestinian People While Exploiting the World’s Distraction with the Regional War
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) affirms that the Israeli occupation authorities continue to escalate their comprehensive and systematic aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, taking advantage of the international community’s preoccupation with the rapidly evolving regional military developments, including the escalating U.S.–Israeli war against Iran. These circumstances allow the occupation to expand grave violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, impose further coercive realities on the ground, and continue policies targeting civilians through collective punishment, ongoing genocide and siege, destruction of civilian infrastructure, the Judaization of Jerusalem, and the expansion of colonial settlement activity.
ICSPR: What is taking place in the Gaza Strip represents one of the most severe contemporary humanitarian catastrophes due to the overlap between the war of extermination and the comprehensive siege imposed on civilians, the destruction of vital infrastructure, and the obstruction of humanitarian aid delivery. The continued closure of the Rafah Crossing for the thirteenth consecutive day has prevented patients and the wounded from traveling abroad for treatment and has also prevented Palestinians stranded abroad from returning. This has led to an almost complete disruption of essential services, including health care, water, and sanitation, raising the risk of a widespread environmental and health disaster. Available data indicates that the entry of goods and humanitarian aid remains far below the minimum level needed to meet the needs of more than two million Palestinians, amid the continued closure of most crossings and the limited operation of only a few crossings with reduced capacity, which further increases civilian suffering and delays reconstruction and recovery efforts.
ICSPR: The Commission strongly condemns the continued targeting of civilians and security personnel by the occupation. Over the past three days, approximately 18 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli crimes. In the West Bank, Muhammad and Ma’moun Rashdan were killed by Israeli gunfire near the Za’tara Junction south of Nablus on March 11, 2026, reflecting the continued policy of extrajudicial killings. In the Gaza Strip, three young men were killed following an airstrike on Mushtaha Street in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City on March 13, 2026: Mohammed Saher Al-Siqli (17), Younes Saed Ayad (17), and Abdullah Tayseer Shomer (20). In addition, the targeting of Palestinian police points north of Khan Younis on March 14, 2026 resulted in the killing of Sohaib Al-Maghribi and Musab Al-Raqab and the injury of three others. This reflects a systematic escalation against Palestinian civilian security personnel and constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law.
ICSPR: The Commission also strongly condemns the targeting and assassination of lawyer and volunteer researcher with ICSPR, Mutasim Maher Khamis Fares, who was killed on March 12, 2026 by Israeli occupation forces on Salah al‑Din Road near Kissufim Crossing while traveling from Khan Younis to his home in Gaza City. The Commission affirms that this criminal act constitutes a clear war crime under international law and represents a direct attack on human rights defenders in an attempt to silence rights-based voices documenting violations committed against the Palestinian people.
ICSPR: The Commission strongly condemns the Israeli army’s decision to close the case regarding criminal abuses against Palestinian detainees in Sde Teiman Detention Facility and to drop charges against all soldiers involved, including officers and politicians, among them the far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir. The Commission considers this decision a form of near-absolute immunity granted to Israeli soldiers, officers, and politicians and a consolidation of the policy of impunity for grave violations committed against Palestinian detainees, including brutal torture, enforced disappearance, deliberate medical negligence, harassment, and sexual assaults inside prisons and detention centers.
ICSPR: The Commission condemns the ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites, including the burning of Mohammed Fayyad Mosque in the town of Duma south of Nablus and the writing of racist slogans on its walls on March 10, 2026. This comes alongside continued restrictions imposed by the occupation on Al‑Aqsa Mosque, including closing its gates to thousands of worshippers under the pretext of “emergency measures,” while extremist settlers are allowed to storm the mosque compound and perform Talmudic rituals inside its courtyards. These practices represent a grave violation of freedom of worship and the sanctity of holy sites and constitute a systematic escalation aimed at altering the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem.
ICSPR: The Commission warns of the risk of a comprehensive economic collapse in the Gaza Strip, as human rights data indicates that occupation forces have almost completely destroyed the economic sectors, agriculture, and the fishing sector. This has resulted in unprecedented levels of poverty and unemployment and has forced the majority of Gaza’s population to rely on scarce humanitarian aid amid the ongoing siege and destruction of livelihoods.
ICSPR: The Commission affirms that these Israeli violations and crimes constitute a blatant breach of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, as well as United Nations Security Council resolutions and rulings of the International Court of Justice, which affirmed the illegality of the occupation and the obligation to protect civilians and civilian objects.
Accordingly, the Commission calls on the international community, mediators, and third states party to the Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention to:
First: Take effective action to stop the targeting of civilians and acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, halt policies of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, end starvation and siege policies, and open all crossings fully and permanently for the passage of food, medicine, fuel, and humanitarian aid. This includes urgently reopening the Rafah Crossing to allow patients and the wounded to travel and enable the return of stranded Palestinians.
Second: Ensure international protection for humanitarian workers, human rights defenders, police personnel, and civilians; stop settler attacks against Palestinians, their property, and their holy sites; reopen Al‑Aqsa Mosque for worshippers; and halt measures aimed at the Judaization of Jerusalem.
Third: Activate international accountability mechanisms against Israeli soldiers and politicians involved in crimes committed against Palestinian civilians and detainees in accordance with international law, including the use of universal jurisdiction and prosecution before the International Criminal Court.
