How International Community responds to Israeli crimes will be a true test of its resolve to protect human rights, conversation with Omar Shakir
By Vanessa Tomassini, this interview originally appeared on the Italian “Strumenti Politici”.
“The Israeli Government has justified its raid on prominent Palestinian civil society groups as a step necessary to combat terrorism, claiming they were linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. However, it put forward no evidence to justify this claim. The European Union, Germany, the US, Netherland, the CIA, and other States’ prominent civil society groups have seen some of the information the Israeli Government apparently relied on to make this determination and they were all dismissed evidence. They said they found the claim to be unsubstantial and, in some cases, to be baseless. The reality here is that this move confirms that the Israeli Government systematically attacks human rights advocacy. There are efforts to mussel the reporting of organizations that have for years been documenting human rights abuses by the Israeli Government, by the Palestinian Authority, and as well challenging directly the Israel apartheid. This attack must be understood in a context decades-long. The Israeli Government pursue human rights supporting and punishes those criticizing its apartheid over Palestinians. Staff members of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other international organizations have faced travel bans and deportations. Palestinian human rights defenders have always burned the bond of repression. This latest step tries to shoot down the work of prominent civil society organizations." Tell us Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, investigating human rights abuses in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. With him, we try to understand the situation of Palestinian activists and civil society. A conversation - denounce following the Israeli raids against six Palestinian civil society groups that took place on the morning of August 18, as well as the subsequent arrests and interrogations of staff members of those organizations.
What deterrent measures can the European Union and the international community adopt?
“The Palestinian Civil Society still facing an existential threat. It is precisely the decades-long failure of the International Community to challenge grave Israeli human rights abuses and impose meaningful consequences for them that is embodying the Israeli government to act in this contemptuous manner. How the International Community responds will be a true test of its resolve to protect human rights defenders. European States have rightfully, in recent weeks, been clear in their statements that they disagree with the Israeli government's designations and have called for and taken some action to stand with the affected Civil Society groups. However, more needs to be done. The statements alone will not reverse Israel's all-out assault on the Palestinian Civil Society. The European States must be much clearer and more unequivocal that the Israeli Government should reverse these designations and allow the Palestinian Civil Society groups to continue their vower work uninterrupted. The European States must make clear that there will be meaningful consequences for the Israeli Government should it fail to reverse these designations and continue forward with its crackdown on the Palestinian Civil Society. The reality here is Israeli Government is not only shutting down the human rights organization, but it is also carrying out grave human rights abuses, including the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against the millions of Palestinians. Crimes of this gravity require serious Human Rights tools, holding perpetrators to account, and ending all forms of impunity. It is critical that the European States apply these sorts of Human Rights tools, necessary to bring this situation of serious human rights abuses to an end.”
How the Abraham accords reached by Israel and several Arab States are affecting the situation in Gaza and oPt?
“The Agreements between Israel and a number of Arab countries have not improved the human rights situation on the ground. Recent months have not only seen renewed rounds of armed hostilities in Ghaza that have been included in the Commission of war crimes, and other serious abuses on the ground, but we have seen an expansion of settlements which represent also war crimes and unlawful under international law. We've seen record numbers of home demolitions and increasing settler violence. These abuses are continuing despite the claims by some governments that they were undertaking these steps as a way to improve the situation for Palestinians on the ground. Millions of Palestinians still facing a reality of apartheid and persecution. It is incumbent upon States to ensure that they review all forms of bilateral engagement with Israel to ensure non-complicity in these crimes. That means ending all agreements and activities, mitigating impacts when not possible ending activities that make them complicit in these serious crimes. The reality is that many of the Countries that have reached agreements with Israel themselves are committing grave human rights abuses and these agreements between governments have carried out in some cases war crimes and crimes against humanity. They’ve done nothing to improve human rights in the region, in fact in some ways, they’ve made it worst”.
As Israel doesn’t recognize the International Criminal Court (ICC) statute, how is it possible to obtain justice for its crimes against humanity?
“The Israeli government has foreclosed paths for accountability for grave rights abuse within Israel. They've done so through methodical white-washing of investigations into their own wrongdoing, as well as ensuring that perpetrators of grave abuse against Palestinians are remaining free from accountability. Do remain paths for accountability in the International Community. The ICC has opened a formal probe into serious crimes committed in Palestine. That case remains in the investigatory stages and there will be legal and likely political obstacles ahead, but it represents an important path to accountability for victims who faced a wall of impunity for years, for decades. In addition, National Courts, given the gravity of crimes committed, have the authorization, under international law to investigate and persecute those implicated in serious crimes, including the Israeli Government’s crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against millions of Palestinians. So, National prosecutors in countries around the world can do that under the principle of Universal Jurisdiction and in accordance with local law. Of course, the UN has a Commission of inquiry that is investigating a range of human rights abuses committed by Israel in the Palestinian territories. Part of its mandate is trying to ensure accountability for those crimes as well. In addition to those, of course, there are various efforts at the nation-state level both to assess a pathway to accountability but also to ensure non-complicity in those crimes. A path exists. It keeps challenging the political will by the States, who are able to apply the same standards to Israel - Palestine as they do to other situations and pursue accountability for those serious crimes."