United Kingdom, London, August 14, 2014: In Citizens Rights Watch, we are obliged to lend our voices to the people of Gaza. The dehumanization of the Palestinian people and the horrific crimes in the occupied Gaza Strip cannot continue no more. We urge both sides to stop hostilities and in doing so to respect human rights and humanitarian law; especially the rights of their citizens which are related to the civilian casualties that have been caused, and strongly advocate for the impartial accountability for crimes that have been committed by both sides.

It is obvious that Israel treats, targets, and attacks the households of people even remotely linked to Hamas as allegedly legitimate military targets, which according to our pool of experts is a position that is in breach of international humanitarian law. Israel’s state-terrorism, disrespect of international human rights norms and humanitarian law, cannot and should not be tolerated no more by the international community, while it's our official position that the support of Israel’s illegal occupation by Western States, and the systematic and premeditated damage of the Palestinian people’s dignity, creates the ultimate human rights violation. We say to the leaders of the world that they are all accomplices to these war crimes, if they continue doing nothing to stop immediately these crimes against humanity.

Israel is the “elephant in the room” that the international community chooses not to acknowledge as a criminal State. The whole world has witnessed the attacks to several medical facilities and non-military governmental buildings across Gaza, which have been deliberately attacked and damaged; and the destruction of a power plant, which is an unlawful disproportionate attack under the laws of war, since it is producing more civilian harms than military profit. The UN has confirmed that schools in Gaza have been attacked, murdering and injuring many innocent civilians, while valid sources have indicated that the Israeli forces have deliberately and repeatedly shot and killed innocent children even while playing on a beach. Citizens Rights Watch holds that while Israel claims that is being warning civilians in Gaza, a consistent pattern has been evident proving that their activities cannot satisfy the requirements of an “effective warning” under international law.

We ask for a proper war crimes investigation by the ICC, principally for bringing justice to the many victims of these war crimes. Human rights have been absent in these lands, and in The Citizens Rights Watch is our obligation to lend our voices primarily to the Palestinian people, since they are the ones suffering the loss of many civilians lives, and the undignified attack on the lives of hundreds innocent children. However we cannot omit to acknowledge that Hamas must be also subjected to an independent legal investigation. History should not be the only one to judge these crimes against humanity, and attacks on human rights values. Here in Citizens Rights Watch, we will not be silenced until the UN’s call for an immediate investigation produces solid results and Justice is being restored.

CONTRACT:

Dr. Zoi Aliozi

Secretary-General,

Citizens Rights Watch,