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United Nations

UN Chief Warns Israel of Possible Listing as Abusers for Sexual Violence Against Palestinians

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has warned Israel that the United Nations has "credible information" of sexual violence and other violations by Israeli forces against detained Palestinians. This warning comes after Guterres expressed his "grave concern" about reported violations against Palestinians by Israeli military and security forces in several prisons, a detention center, and a military base. The UN chief is putting Israeli forces on notice that they could be listed as abusers in his next report on sexual violence in conflict due to significant concerns of patterns of certain forms of sexual violence that have been consistently documented by the United Nations.

Key Takeaways:

  • The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has written a letter to Ambassador Danny Danon expressing his "grave concern" about reported violations against Palestinians by Israeli military and security forces.
  • Guterres has credible information of sexual violence and other violations by Israeli forces against detained Palestinians, which could lead to Israel being listed as an abuser in his next report on sexual violence in conflict.
  • Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, has dismissed the allegations as "baseless accusations," and argued that the UN should focus on the war crimes and sexual violence committed by Hamas.
  • The UN-backed human rights experts have accused Israel of "the systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence" against Palestinian detainees.
  • The Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory documented a range of violations perpetrated against Palestinian women, men, girls, and boys, and accused Israeli security forces of rape and sexual violence against Palestinian detainees.
  • The UN Secretary-General has urged Israel to take necessary measures to ensure the immediate cessation of all acts of sexual violence and to make and implement specific time-bound commitments.

Statistics:

  • 61,400 Palestinians killed in the ongoing war in Gaza (according to Gaza's Health Ministry)
  • 1,200 people killed in Hamas's surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023
  • 250 Palestinians taken hostage by Hamas in the same attack
  • 50% of the Palestinians killed in the ongoing war in Gaza are women and children (according to Gaza's Health Ministry)
  • 184 Palestinian journalists killed in the war in Gaza

Sources:

  • Antonio Guterres, letter to Ambassador Danny Danon (UN)
  • Gaza's Health Ministry
  • Danon, D. (2023). [Letter to the Editor] (Israel Embassy)
  • Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (2023). Report on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (UN)
  • Israel Police (2023). [Press Release] (Israel Ministry of Defense)

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