Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Israel’s Mass Execution of Paramedics is a War Crime that Demands Immediate International Accountability
Israel’s Mass Execution of Paramedics is a War Crime that Demands Immediate International Accountability
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine condemns in the strongest terms the horrific crime committed by Israeli occupation forces against 15 paramedics and aid workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Civil Defense, and United Nations in Rafah city, southern Gaza.
These paramedics and aid workers were abused, executed, and their bodies dumped in a mass grave — in a heinous act devoid of any moral or legal restraint.
The Ministry stresses that this fully constituted war crime, along with other mass atrocities, forms part of Israel’s ongoing campaign of genocidal war, forced displacement, and annexation being waged against the Palestinian people. It reveals the brutality of the daily crimes committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians, as well as against humanitarian, UN, medical, and press personnel – with the intent to terrorize them and obstruct the delivery of life-saving aid to the people of Gaza.
This is a deliberate policy aimed at eradicating all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip and rendering it uninhabitable, in pursuit of the forcible transfer of the entire Palestinian population.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry continues to actively follow upon these crimes with states, international courts, and relevant UN institutions to ensure the accountability of the Israeli government and to stop its policies of genocidal violence, forced displacement, and annexation against the Palestinian people.
The Ministry renews its call for a serious and urgent international response consistent with the obligations and responsibilities enshrined in international law, and demands accountability for Israeli war criminals and those who have enabled or authorized their crimes.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry stresses that the failure of the international community to take meaningful action - particularly those states that claim to support peace and the two-state solution - only emboldens Israel, the occupying Power, to intensify its violent and unchecked comprehensive domination of the Palestinian people and encourages the continuation of its criminal policies of genocidal war, forced displacement, and annexation.