October 10: PEN International is horrified by the shocking number of civilian deaths in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) due to the outbreak of violence between Hamas and Israel. We call for the immediate cessation of all hostilities, the protection of civilians and a just resolution of the conflict through negotiations between the State of Palestine and the State of Israel, in accordance with international law.
The escalation of violence began on October 7, when Hamas fired rockets into Israel and began an unprecedented operation by its fighters in Israeli settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with an overwhelming bombardment of entire residential areas and initiating a complete siege of the Gaza Strip.
In response to the escalation of hostilities, Burhan Sonmez , President of PEN International, stated:
«The violence by Hamas and the Israeli government is unacceptable. Years of occupation and political stagnation have led to this violence, in which civilians on both sides suffer the most. I offer my condolences to all those affected by this bloodshed If not stopped, the alarming rise in violence and hatred will devastate the entire region and affect the entire world. Peace must prevail by ensuring an immediate ceasefire and a just resolution that addresses the root causes of the conflict. The United Nations «They must establish a concrete initiative and definitively end the occupation, in accordance with international law.»
PEN International strongly condemns Israel’s complete siege of Gaza, including the denial of access to electricity, food, water, fuel and vital medical supplies, as well as the killing of civilians, indiscriminate shelling, disproportionate retaliatory attacks, deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure and the collateral punishment inflicted on the civilian population of Gaza. We also condemn the killings and kidnappings of Israeli civilians by Palestinian armed groups. These acts by both sides are prohibited by international law and may constitute war crimes of unprecedented proportions.
PEN International insists that all parties to the conflict must strictly adhere to international humanitarian law and protect civilian lives at all times, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. We also warn that if the UN Security Council does not take urgent action to impose an immediate ceasefire, the conflict may risk spreading throughout the region.
We call for the immediate cessation of all hostilities, the protection of civilian lives and a just resolution of the conflict. This should entail the immediate end of the illegal Israeli occupation of all Palestinian territories, in accordance with international law, and the dismantling of the apartheid system to which Palestinians have been subjected for decades.
General information
On October 7, Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of more than 800 Israelis, including civilians. The attack also left more than 2,600 injured, according to the latest figures. Israeli forces launched a retaliatory attack on Gaza that left at least 508 dead and 28,00 wounded, including 91 children and 61 women, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The ministry also reported that 15 Palestinians, including two minors, were killed in the West Bank and about 80 were wounded. The current death toll is 704 Palestinians in Gaza and more than 900 people in Israel.
The recent escalation comes against a backdrop of rising violence against Palestinians amid alarming settlement expansion in recent years. Experts from the UN , Israeli and international human rights organizations warned of the impact of the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, the apartheid system and the continued violations of Palestinian human rights that result from it. More than two million Palestinians live in Gaza, routinely described as an «open-air prison», without adequate access to electricity, water or healthcare, with a collapsing economy and no ability to travel freely to the rest of Palestine or to the outside world.
The rise of the far right in Israel, which saw a far-right coalition come to power in November 2022, raises serious human rights concerns . The new government put many highly controversial right-wing extremists in charge, such as Israel’s Minister of National Security , Itamar Ben- Gvir . Known for his extreme anti-Arab views and previously convicted of hate speech , inciting racism and supporting a terrorist group, Ben- Gvir could oversee some police activities in the occupied West Bank.
In September 2021, the Assembly of PEN International Delegates, meeting at its 87th Annual Congress, adopted a resolution on the critical situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories calling, among other things, on all parties to support and participate in the International Criminal Court investigation into any possible war crimes, and in the Independent International Commission of Inquiry to investigate abuses of international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel , as proposed by the UN Human Rights Council. For more information, click here.
Note to editors:
For more information, please contact Sabrina Tucci , Director of Communications and Campaigns at PEN International, Sabrina.Tucci@pen-international.org.