On Friday, November 3, 2023, a press conference was held via Zoom platform for representatives of accredited international media at the United Nations. The conference was addressed by both ADDAMEER for Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and the Independent Commission for Human Rights.
ADDAMEER discussed the daily arrest campaigns carried out by the occupying forces in an unprecedented manner in various areas of the West Bank. The number of detainees from the West Bank and Jerusalem has reached around 2000 since October 7th, in addition to about 4000 detainees from the Gaza Strip. The number of administrative detainees without charge or trial has significantly increased and has reached 2070 administrative detainee. ADDAMEER also addressed the violations of the occupation against detainees and their families during the arrest process, including brutal beatings, threats of murder, and the use of families as hostages.
The punitive measures implemented by the Israeli prison services against the prisoners after the declaration of emergency were outlined, including the closure of sections, cutting off electricity and water, prohibiting visits from lawyers and family members, shutting down the canteen, providing poor quality and quantity of food, closing clinics in the prisons, and preventing the transfer of sick prisoners to external clinics and hospitals. The International Committee of the Red Cross was also prohibited from visiting.
Dr. Ammar Dweik, the Director General of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, emphasized that what the Israeli occupation forces have been doing in the Gaza Strip since October 7th amounts to genocide. He stated that there can be no protection for civilians in Gaza without a cessation of the war. Any talk of protecting civilians and respecting international humanitarian law without a clear call for an end to the war is hypocrisy and provides cover for Israel in its war against civilians in Gaza.
Dweik pointed out that what the Israeli occupation forces commit in the Gaza Strip constitutes genocide according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as well as according to the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The incitement carried out by senior Israeli officials against the Gaza Strip, describing Palestinians in Gaza as “human animals”, cutting off water, electricity, and fuel, hindering and preventing the entry of aid, and the continuous indiscriminate shelling and massacres all confirm that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is nothing but genocide. This is what we have been hearing from the voices of the international community that are increasingly warning of genocide in Gaza.
The news agencies that participated in the press conference were: Xinhua News Agency, The Japan Daily Press, Kyodo News Agency, Swiss News Agency, Lancet Medical Journal, Swiss German Daily Newspaper, Emirates News Agency, TASS Russian News Agency, Novosti Russian Radio, Spanish News Agency, Mexican News Agency, Associated Press (AP), Reuters, France 24, Health Policy Watch.