ICSPR Warns of Escalating Israeli Occupation Crimes in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Occupied Jerusalem
Date: March 3, 2025
Press Release
ICSPR Warns of Escalating Israeli Occupation Crimes in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Occupied Jerusalem
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) warned that the Israeli occupying power is exploiting regional developments and the Israeli–American military aggression against Iran as a cover to expand the scope of crimes committed against the Palestinian people. This includes escalating the targeting of civilians, tightening the blockade, imposing collective punishment, and entrenching forced isolation in the Gaza Strip, alongside an unprecedented escalation in Jerusalem and the West Bank, the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the continued attacks by extremist settler militias. The Commission considers this conduct to reflect a systematic policy aimed at imposing facts on the ground by force, taking advantage of the international community’s preoccupation, thereby threatening human security and undermining the foundations of regional and international stability.
ICSPR condemned the closure of crossings, including the Rafah Crossing, the prevention of humanitarian aid entry, and the obstruction of medical evacuations for the wounded and sick. It stated that such measures constitute a crime of collective punishment against more than 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip, over 80% of whom depend on humanitarian assistance, amid catastrophic levels of food insecurity and internal movement restrictions exceeding 60%. The Commission stressed that the use of starvation and deprivation of medical care and fuel as means of pressure constitutes a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.
ICSPR indicated that the continued military escalation since the ceasefire of October 11 has resulted in the killing of 631 citizens and the injury of 1,700 others. During the past 24 hours alone, 18 martyrs and two injured persons arrived at Gaza hospitals, while victims remain trapped under the rubble due to the inability of ambulance and civil defense crews to reach them. The Commission affirmed that this pattern of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, requiring urgent international accountability.
ICSPR further stated that the intensification of the military closure system in the West Bank, through more than 900 permanent and temporary checkpoints and earth mounds, in addition to the escalation of extremist settler attacks exceeding 1,000 incidents over the past two months, constitutes an integrated repressive structure aimed at paralyzing economic and social life, raising unemployment rates to over 30% in some governorates, and entrenching a climate of impunity, in clear violation of the occupying power’s obligations to protect the civilian population.
ICSPR also condemned the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque for the fourth consecutive day during the month of Ramadan, the imposition of strict restrictions on access to the Ibrahimi Mosque, and the prevention of thousands of worshippers from practicing their religious rites. It considered these measures a serious assault on freedom of worship and an attempt to impose a new reality on Islamic holy sites, with potentially grave repercussions for civil peace and regional stability.
The International Commission renewed its call on the United Nations and the international community to take urgent and effective action to halt the crimes and violations, fully and unconditionally lift the blockade, open all crossings to ensure the safe and immediate flow of humanitarian aid, guarantee the unrestricted evacuation of the wounded and sick, lift the closure imposed on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque, protect religious freedoms and ensure access to places of worship, provide effective international protection for civilians, and strengthen international solidarity efforts in confronting the violations and crimes of the Israeli occupation in Palestine and the region. It further emphasized the necessity of ending grave violations and holding those responsible accountable before international courts, particularly the International Criminal Court, in order to safeguard international justice and prevent impunity.
