The General Union of Palestinian Lawyers in Europe Calls for an International Investigation into the Crime of Starvation in Gaza

SadaNews - The General Union of Palestinian Lawyers - Europe branch, in a statement issued on Tuesday, condemned the systematic crime of starvation being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, asserting that what is happening constitutes a complete war crime classified as a crime against humanity.

The union clarified that the Israeli occupation follows a systematic policy aimed at depriving the residents of Gaza of water, food, and medicine, amid a suffocating siege and widespread destruction, leading to an unprecedented catastrophic famine threatening the lives of millions, amidst international silence described in the statement as "shameful and disgraceful."

The statement emphasized that using starvation as a tool of war, and starving civilians while depriving them of the simplest necessities of life, represents a flagrant violation of international law, especially the Geneva Conventions, and calls for urgent international action to stop this crime and hold its perpetrators accountable.

The union demanded the following:

- To open an urgent international investigation into the systematic crime of starvation being committed against the residents of the Gaza Strip, and to hold the leaders of the occupation accountable as war criminals in international courts.

- To call on the United Nations and international humanitarian organizations to immediately deliver assistance to the sector unconditionally.

- To take immediate action by Arab and Islamic countries to prepare legal files concerning the crimes committed, in preparation for pursuing the occupation legally in international courts.

- To request the International Criminal Court to expedite its legal proceedings against the occupation, and to open an official investigation into the crimes of starvation and genocide.

At the conclusion of the statement, the union stressed that the world's silence regarding what is happening in Gaza represents a stain of shame, calling for urgent humanitarian, ethical, and legal action to save what remains of the population of the sector, who are facing the danger of starvation and extermination.