On the other hand, after the Hamas attack, Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. The Israeli blockade impedes the entrance of humanitarian aid, causing famine and death by malnutrition. The Gazans have been undernourished, crowded together, living without water or with contaminated water, without light or fuel, and since the beginning of the conflict in the Gaza Strip women and children have been condemned to the most extreme vulnerability.
Schools and several universities have been totally or partially destroyed by the Israeli armed forces. In addition, numerous libraries, archives, publishing houses, cultural centers, meeting areas, bookstores, cemeteries and monuments have been turned into rubble, ruins and dust. The attack on education and the cultural heritage of the Palestinians isn’t new but it has reached humiliating levels. The systematic and continuing destruction of the Palestinian education since Nakba has developed into an effort to totally annihilate their culture.
International law and the Geneva Conventions set the norma for war. According to these, civilians should never be taken as hostages. If they are, this qualifies as a war crime.
We believe, as does the UN regarding Palestinian Territories and the legal team of South Africa, that crimes against humanity are being committed in the Gaza Strip: genocide because of the violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, approved in 1948 and in force since 1951 in 152 countries, one of the universal human rights instruments.
As Women in Black against war, we demand
♀ An end to the bombings and definitive cease fire in the Gaza Strip.
♀ That the vague information on sex crimes and the harassment of women by both parties in the conflict be clarified.
♀ That proof of war crimes committed by all the implicated parties be compiled and saved.
♀ That the International Criminal Court of The Hague act.
♀ That military, economic and political assistance for these atrocities cease.
♀ That the European Union, including the government of Spain and the international community of the West, place an embargo on arms and sanctions on Israel.
♀ That the oppression of the People of Gaza cease and that their inalienable right to self- determination be recognized.
♀ The return of all the hostages alive, including those who are jailed in Israel.
♀ Who will clean up the missiles and contaminating bombs from the ground and water of Gaza? The environmental damages produced in the region must be repaired.