A Palestinian boy plays amidst the debris of a building destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City on March 28, 2025. (Photo by Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP)
Gaza: The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor stated that the Israeli Supreme Court's decision to reject the appeal for allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza represents a central part of a comprehensive colonial system that directly contributes to the commission of genocide against the people of Gaza.
In a statement issued on Friday, the monitor emphasized that the decision, made on Thursday, further proves that the Israeli judiciary, which has never been an instrument of justice for Palestinians, functions as part of a systematic system involving all state institutions, including the government, military, security agencies, military prosecution, courts, and media. These institutions coordinate their roles to facilitate crimes against Palestinians, offer a false legal cover for them, and blatantly defy international legal and humanitarian standards.
The monitor pointed out that while human rights organizations warned of the accelerating famine in Gaza and the deaths of infants due to hunger due to Israel's blockade preventing the entry of humanitarian aid and basic goods for over three weeks the "Supreme Court" provided clear and direct legitimacy to this blockade, which deprived more than two million people, half of them children, of food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity for eighteen months.
The decision, according to the monitor, effectively endorses the use of starvation as a declared weapon against Palestinians in Gaza, making it an official policy implemented by political decision and confirmed by a court ruling one of the clearest manifestations of the involvement of all official Israeli institutions in the crime of genocide.
The Israeli court justified its decision by stating that the occupying power's obligations under international law do not apply to Israel in all matters concerning Gaza, directly contradicting established rules in international law that apply to the occupied Palestinian territories.
The decision was also described as a severe violation of the International Court of Justice's rulings in the genocide case against Israel and contradicts the advisory opinion issued in 2024.
It further constitutes a grave violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which applies to the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza. The Convention mandates that the occupying power must ensure the supply of food and medical supplies to the population under occupation.
The monitor added that if local resources are insufficient, the occupying power is obligated to allow humanitarian operations for the benefit of these populations, providing facilities for aid, especially for food, medical supplies, and clothing.
The decision was also seen as a blatant disregard of the International Court of Justice's decisions in the genocide case (South Africa v. Israel).
The monitor reiterated that Israel's obligations to the populations under its control are absolute legal duties, independent of the legal relationship with the territory. These obligations stem from its duty to respect and protect international law and human rights under all circumstances.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor clarified that the obligations related to preventing the starvation of civilians and allowing humanitarian aid go beyond the laws of occupation. They also include Israel's commitments under key human rights agreements, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other international treaties.
The rights monitor warned of the catastrophic humanitarian situation affecting all residents of Gaza, especially following the resurgence of direct genocide through killings on March 18. It emphasized that the occupation continuously used other forms of genocide for the past year and a half against the Palestinian people, particularly through siege, starvation, deprivation of basic survival needs, causing severe physical and psychological suffering, and imposing deadly living conditions aimed at destroying the Palestinian population.
The monitor called for the immediate and full lifting of the siege on Gaza, ensuring the free movement of people and goods without restrictions, opening all crossing points without arbitrary conditions, and taking effective steps to save Palestinians from slow death and forced displacement. This includes an urgent response to address immediate needs, such as providing temporary and decent housing.
The monitor urged the international community to impose economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel due to its systematic and grave violations of international law, including a ban on exporting weapons to and from Israel, halting military cooperation, freezing the assets of officials involved in crimes against Palestinians, and suspending trade privileges and bilateral agreements that provide economic advantages, increasing pressure on Israel to end its crimes.
It also called on the International Criminal Court to expedite investigations and issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials involved in international crimes in Gaza, and to recognize and treat these acts as genocide unequivocally.
The monitor reminded member states of the Rome Statute of their legal obligations to cooperate fully with the court and ensure the execution of arrest warrants against Israeli officials, holding them accountable in international justice and ensuring they do not continue to evade prosecution.
Finally, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor urged the international community to act immediately based on its legal obligations to end the root causes of Palestinian suffering and persecution over the past 76 years. This includes guaranteeing the Palestinian people's right to live freely and with dignity, the right to self-determination under international law, ending Israel's illegal occupation and settlement colonialism, dismantling the system of segregation and apartheid, lifting the illegal siege on Gaza, and ensuring accountability and compensation for Palestinian victims.
