New UN Commision of Inquiry Report on Occupation’s War Crimes Takes on Greater Urgency After the Occupation’s Breaches Ceasefire 

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association welcomes the latest report of the United Nations (UN) Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupying state (COI), titled “More than a human can bear”: the occupying state’s systematic use of sexual, reproductive, and other forms of gender-based violence since 7 October 2023. This report serves as an authoritative and urgent contribution to the mounting evidence of the occupation’s genocidal policies and crimes against Palestinian detainees, particularly in light of the occupation’s recent violation of the ceasefire and its massacre of over 400 Palestinians in Gaza. 

Drawing on extensive investigations conducted in 2024 and information provided by Palestinian civil society organizations, including Addameer, the COI highlights the brutal and systematic use of gender-based violence by occupation forces and settlers. The report sheds light on the ongoing persecution of Palestinian prisoners, particularly the use of torture, sexual violence, and inhumane detention conditions as tools of collective punishment and extermination. 

Since 7 October 2023, thousands of Palestinians, including women and children, have been arbitrarily detained, with many held under incommunicado detention or subjected to enforced disappearance. The COI report details how occupation authorities have systematically subjected Palestinian detainees to physical and psychological torture, forced stripping, sexual harassment, and prolonged isolation. Palestinian women in detention face severe reproductive violence, including denial of menstrual hygiene products, sexual abuse, and medical neglect. The report also underscores how pregnant detainees have been denied access to adequate medical care, placing both their lives and the lives of their unborn children at risk. 

The COI findings further align with Addameer’s continuous documentation of the occupation’s targeted repression of Palestinian prisoners. Addameer has reported extensively on the increase in torture, ill-treatment, and denial of basic rights to Palestinian detainees, particularly in occupation prisons such as Damon, Sde Teman, and Ofer. The COI’s recognition of these violations reinforces the call for urgent international intervention to hold the occupying state accountable for its crimes under international law. 

The COI’s findings reinforce the conclusions of Addameer’s published report, “Update on the Conditions and Torture Violations Committed Against Gazan Detainees”, which was submitted to international bodies. This report provides first-hand testimonies from detainees who have suffered relentless abuse, medical negligence, and enforced disappearances. Addameer’s documentation was directly cited by the COI, strengthening the evidentiary basis for its conclusions that the occupation’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners constitutes a systematic policy of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. The COI’s reliance on Addameer’s findings underscores the vital role of Palestinian human rights organizations in exposing the occupation’s war crimes and ensuring accountability. 

The UN Commission of Inquiry  report is a crucial step toward demanding justice and accountability for Palestinian prisoners and all victims of the occupation’s settler-colonial apartheid regime. Addameer reiterates its call for immediate international action to dismantle the occupation’s system of oppression, end the practice of administrative detention, and ensure the release of all Palestinian prisoners unlawfully held in occupation jails. The COI’s findings must serve as a catalyst for the International Criminal Court and other legal bodies to expedite investigations into the occupation’s war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

Addameer stands firm in its commitment to advocating for Palestinian prisoners and ensuring that the international community upholds its legal and moral obligations to prevent further atrocities. The voices of Palestinian detainees must not be silenced, and their plight must remain at the forefront of global accountability efforts.