Latest news with #PCHR
Sharjah 24
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Sharjah 24
Israel killed 595 children, 308 women in Gaza since March
In a statement today, the PCHR said: ''With the resumption of the Israeli military aggression on Gaza, women and children are now on the top of the victims' lists. Gaza's women find themselves trapped between treacherous bombardment that claims either their lives or their children's.''
Gulf Today
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
No in-between
Celebrated Palestinian human rights lawyer Raji Sourani is currently focusing on the prosecution of British citizens who have been accused of war crimes while fighting in the Israeli army during the Gaza war. Sourani is a member of a team of lawyers from the Palestine Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) which last week submitted a a 240-page report to Britain's Metropolitan Police war crimes unit. Among the 10 accused are dual British-Israeli citizens. Sourani told Middle East Eye, 'We are here on a very special mission, to say to the police that there are British [nationals] who are involved in ...war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the British police should [hold them] accountable.' The war crimes they have committed include murder, extermination, attacking civilians, persecution, and forcible transfer. Sourani said he expects the police to act as Britain is a country where the rule of law is enforced. Unfortunately, Britain has shown itself unwilling to impose legal and moral accountability on Israelis and non-Israeli nationals recruited by the Israeli army. While the PCHR is focusing on Britons who violate human rights laws, there are hundreds of French and US citizens who should be investigated while serving in Israel's Gaza campaign. Over the decades Sourani has filed multiple cases against Israelis with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and has accused its prosecutors of dragging them out. In November 2024, the ICC finally obliged by issuing warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of instigating war crimes and crimes against humanity. As a result, 125 ICC ember states are required to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter their territory. Hungary's authoritarian leader Viktor Orban refused to honour this obligation when Netanyahu visited Budapest this month and withdrew Hungary from the ICC. However, Hungary did not abide by the requirement to effect exit by informing the UN secretary general. As Hungary's withdrawal will not be effective for a year after formally withdrawn, Orban remains obliged to arrest anyone against whom warrants have been issued. After an Israeli strike with a 900-kilogram bomb in October 2023 wrecked his home in the Tel Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City, Surani and his family left the Strip for Egypt and then Paris. Sourani is now based in Messina in Sicily at the home of Triestino Mariniello who is an Italian member of the PCHR which has been targeted by Israel's war. Mariniello told Al-Jazeera, 'We thought it was a good way to try and be more productive in a place where you can actually detach yourself from the constant horrors, even though that may seem impossible these days. We also considered this as an opportunity for our colleague from Gaza to catch a breath after what he's been going through.' In addition to raising a case for war crimes against Britons, the PCHR is working with South African lawyers who have lodged a case on Israeli genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Sourani said in the 'Al-Jazeera' interview, 'What we are witnessing is unprecedented. And what's more concerning is that the people documenting the horrors are dying too, erasing the evidence of what is happening.' PCHR lawyer Nour Naser Abu al-Nour and colleague Dana Yaghi were killed in Israeli strikes early in 2024. Sourani said. 'The world is just watching Israel go beyond human rights law. So we felt the urge to speed up our legal battle. That's another thing that's missing in Gaza – apart from food and safety – is time.' Born in 1953 in Gaza. Sourani studied law at the University of Alexandria in Egypt before returning to the Strip where established a law office to focus on Israeli occupation abuses, including trials by military courts, detentions without warrants, torture and deaths in prison. As a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, he suffered Israeli arrest, trial in a military court, detention, and mistreatment by his jailors. He served a three-year jail sentence (1979-1982) and was imprisoned another three times in 1985, 1986, and 1988, the last period being administrative arrest. At that time, he was named a 'prisoner of conscience' by Amnesty International. He was also briefly detained by the Palestinian Authority for questioning its commitment to the rule of law. In 1990, he was appointed director of the Gaza Centre for Rights and Law. In 1995, he founded the PCHR to monitor and document Israeli actions, promote the rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territories, and support Palestinian efforts to achieve self-determination. The PCHR is funded by the UN and non-governmental agencies in Sweden, Ireland, Britain, the US, Denmark, and Norway. Sourani and the PCHR have received multiple international human rights awards. The first thing which caught a visitor's attention when entering the PCHR Gaza office was the Robert F. Kennedy award received by Sourani in 1991. It is ironic that a Palestinian should receive this award, as pro-Israel US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, brother of the slain president John F. Kennedy, was killed in 1988 while campaigning for the presidency by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. In 2013, Sourani shared the Swedish Right Livelihood Award, known as the alternative Nobel Prize, for 'his unwavering dedication to the rule of law and human rights under exceptionally difficult circumstances.' In 2024, Sourani told 'The Guardian,' 'The situation is bleak, black and bloody. There are people who want Gaza to be the graveyard of international law. In whose interest is that?' he asked. 'Either you have the rule of law, or you have the rule of the jungle. There is no in-between. At present it is the powerful and mighty that are winning.' Photo: AFP
Leaders
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Leaders
UK Lawyers Target 10 Britons Over Alleged Gaza War Crimes
Ten British citizens, including dual nationals, served in the Israeli army face legal action for alleged accusations of committing war crimes in Gaza. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and UK-based Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) submitted a 240-page report to London's Metropolitan Police. It alleges murder, civilian attacks, and forced displacement. Lawyers demand urgent probes into these crimes. Michael Mansfield KC, a human rights barrister, argues British nationals are not 'above the law'. The dossier aims to deter future recruits from joining Israel's military. Evidence and Charges The report cites open-source data, witness accounts, and legal analysis. It links the accused to atrocities like extermination and targeting aid workers. Franck Magennis, a barrister, stressed British law allows prosecuting citizens for international crimes. 'They should face the full force of the law,' he said. Magennis compared this case to South Africa's efforts against dual nationals in Israel's military. He urged the UK to act, noting global scrutiny of foreign recruits. Ayoub Khan, a UK MP, called the submission a 'crucial first step' with potential worldwide deterrence. Over 50,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have died in Gaza since October 2023. The ICC recently issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes. Short link : Post Views: 28
The National
10-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Civil defence blames Gaza strike death toll on Israel blockading rescue gear
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Gaza civil defence on Thursday blamed Israel's continuing blockade on much-needed rescue gear into the war-ravaged enclave for the immense challenges in rescuing civilians trapped under rubble, following a deadly Israeli air strike that targeted a densely populated residential block in the Shujaiya neighbourhood the day before. The strike killed at least 29 people, including 14 children, and injured more than 60 others. However, rescue workers fear the death toll could be much higher. "The targeting of Al Shujaiya was extremely severe. The number of martyrs and wounded far exceeds our capacity, especially given the critical shortage of rescue equipment and resources," Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the civil defence, told The National. He added that rescue teams received reports from family members of over 30 people, including children, believed to be trapped beneath the rubble. 'Tragically, we are unable to assist those buried under the ruins due to the complete lack of necessary equipment. Some of these lives could have been saved had we been able to reach them in time, but we are losing them due to our limited capabilities.' First responders and neighbours worked to break through the concrete floor of an entire storey that collapsed in the strike and trapped residents, footage showed. Hamas condemned the strike as one of the "most heinous acts of genocide." Mr Basal called on the international community to take immediate action. 'We urge the world to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow the entry of rescue equipment and medical supplies. Without these, we are helpless in the face of such catastrophe.' Palestinian paramedic Ibrahim Abu Al Reesh echoed this despair, recalling harrowing scenes from the massacre. 'We heard voices and saw victims trapped beneath the rubble with our own eyes, but we couldn't rescue them. We simply don't have the equipment or resources.' "The sense of helplessness is unbearable. Hearing the voices of children and knowing you can't save them is beyond heartbreaking," he added. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a statement condemning the attack. 'The Israeli air strike on a residential block in Al Shujaiya has resulted in dozens of civilian casualties in a dangerous escalation of the ongoing genocide against Palestinians.' The statement went on: 'This crime is not an isolated incident. It is part of a systematic Israeli policy aimed at targeting unarmed civilians, maximising casualties, and destroying all aspects of life. The goal is to force mass displacement without providing any alternatives, all while Israeli officials openly speak of plans to expel Palestinians from Gaza.' The PCHR warned that the attack reflects the failure of the international community to intervene and end a massacre that has now persisted for 18 months. Israel cut off aid to Gaza in early March and later resumed intense bombardment across the territory, as well as ground operations. The war, which started after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, has devastated Gaza, with widespread hunger, a collapsing medical system and limited access to aid. Israel maintains that it allows humanitarian assistance to enter and blames Hamas for disruption.
Al Jazeera
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
UK lawyers accuse 10 Britons who fought for Israel in Gaza of war crimes
A dossier against 10 British nationals accused of war crimes while they fought for Israel in the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip has been filed to London's Metropolitan Police by a leading human rights lawyer. The 240-page report, compiled by Michael Mansfield and other lawyers in The Hague, was submitted on Monday on behalf of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the British-based Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) – which are representing Palestinians in Gaza and the United Kingdom. They are accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination, displacement, and murder. 'I could not bear what I saw: dead bodies scattered next to each other,' a witness whose relatives were killed in an Israeli attack said in testimony collected by PCHR. The report, which has not been published, is calling for an urgent investigation into allegations that include the targeted killing of civilians and aid workers, according to several media outlets. It reportedly provides detailed, fully researched, and solid evidence of their involvement in these grave crimes, and specifically identified 10 people who have not been publicly named, some of whom hold Israeli citizenship. Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from London's Scotland Yard, said the report has not been made public for legal reasons. The report accuses suspects of 'coordinated attacks on protected sites, including historic monuments and religious sites, and forced transfer and displacement of civilians', according to the newspaper The Guardian. The British news outlet cited Sean Summerfield, a lawyer who helped compile the dossier, as saying that the research was based on open-source evidence and witness testimony, which together, presented a 'compelling' case. We are standing at the brink of the collapse of the rule of order because certain states have taken it upon themselves … to act with impunity,' Mansfield told reporters outside the police building. Speaking to the United States news site Zeteo, Mansfield said allegations also include 'mass killing, mass destruction, and mass displacement'. The report says that the UK has a responsibility under international law to investigate and prosecute those who have committed international crimes. When asked whether the British government should ban British nationals from serving in the Israeli military, Mansfield said: 'It would be possible for the government to indicate, as they have on other occasions, that it would be unlawful to join an army that in its view is conducting an unlawful war.' Mansfield further spoke on the lack of governmental action, saying that many nations across the world are 'not doing anything' and are instead supporting Israel's government. 'I think it's another reason why the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and the Public Interest Centre have decided to, as it were, prompt the government … into action,' Mansfield said. Since Israel renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, ending a short-lived ceasefire with Hamas, it has pushed to seize territory by force and so far killed more than 1,300 people, according to the enclave's Ministry of Health. More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on October 7, 2023, most of them women and children.
