mei 5, 2026 · 3:23 am

NOOT 11/DUBBEL

[11]
THE RIGHTS FORUM

Broodkruimels als antwoord op genocide

27 FEBRUARI 2026
Het nieuwe kabinet zet wat mini-stapjes op weg naar rechtvaardigheid voor de Palestijnen, maar bij lange na niet genoeg. Een volk dat wordt uitgehongerd heeft niets aan broodkruimels. En de Rode Lijn is niet bedoeld als decor voor campagnefoto’s. Het is een morele ondergrens.

Het was een pijnlijk moment in het debat over de regeringsverklaring van het kabinet-Jetten: de foto van premier Jetten bij de Rode Lijn-demonstratie werd omhooggehouden, gevolgd door de vraag waarom de woorden van toen nu verdampt zijn. ‘Toen zei Rob Jetten dat Palestina erkend moet worden, dat Israël een genocide pleegt, dat Israël oorlogsmisdaden pleegt en dat er tegen Israël sancties moeten komen’, hield Van Baarle (DENK) hem voor. En nu? ‘Israël “maar eventjes gaan aanspreken”.’

Laten we eerlijk zijn: ja, dit kabinet zet een paar mini-stapjes de goede kant op. Het herstellen van de relatie met UNRWA en het weer vrijmaken van budget daarvoor is nodig en welkom. Juist nu honger, ziekte en ontwrichting dagelijks levens kosten. Jetten wijst op de afronding van de onderzoeken naar UNRWA om de relatie te herstellen. Ook de belofte om humanitaire toegang tot Gaza te verbeteren en humanitaire organisaties te steunen die door Israël het werken in Palestina onmogelijk wordt gemaakt, is essentieel. Niemand kan dat ontkennen.

Maar de vraag is niet of er wel of niet iets gebeurt. De vraag is of het genoeg is. En het antwoord is: bij lange na niet.

Politieke speelbal

De coalitie heeft het over het einde van ‘(de uitbreiding van) illegale nederzettingen’, het beëindigen van het belemmeren van noodhulp, het herstellen van de relatie met UNRWA en het in stand houden van nationale en Europese sancties ‘jegens (leden van) de regering-Netanyahu’. Dat klinkt principieel, maar de praktijk die in het debat zichtbaar werd is er vooral een van compromissen: net genoeg om te kunnen zeggen dat de coalitie ‘iets’ doet, maar veel te weinig om de druk op te bouwen die de misdaden doet stoppen.

Zo zeggen D66 en de premier zélf al langer dat erkenning van Palestina logisch en noodzakelijk is. En toch gebeurt het niet. Omdat VVD en CDA weigeren en D66 dat accepteert als prijs om te kunnen regeren. Jetten zei het in de Kamer ronduit: De drie fracties […] kijken alle drie net op een andere manier naar het moment en de manier waarop je de Palestijnse Staat erkent.’ Met andere woorden: van een volk dat onder bezetting, apartheid en structureel geweld leeft, wordt erkenning gedegradeerd tot punt van onderhandeling. Zo wordt het recht op zelfbeschikking van het Palestijnse volk tot politieke speelbal gemaakt.

Nog steeds medeplichtig

Dat is niet alleen politiek lelijk, het is moreel onhoudbaar. Over genocide, apartheid en etnische zuivering sluit je geen compromissen. Je kunt je niet ‘een beetje’ verzetten tegen genocide. Je kunt je niet ‘half’ verzetten tegen apartheid. Je kunt je niet ‘gedeeltelijk’ verzetten tegen etnische zuivering, marteling en buitengerechtelijke executies. Een beetje wegkijken blijft wegkijken. Een beetje meewerken blijft meewerken. En een beleid dat vooral ontworpen is om VVD en CDA binnenboord te houden, blijft, hoe mooi de woorden ook zijn, medeplichtigheid in stand houden.

Want terwijl het kabinet enkele halve sancties noemt, blijft Nederland nog altijd economische relaties gedogen die de bezetting en nederzettingen voeden. Het probleem is dat de bezettings- en nederzettingeneconomie verweven is met de Israëlische economie als geheel. Een handelsverbod dat zich beperkt tot een paar producten of labels – terwijl handelsstromen, investeringen, aanbestedingen en samenwerking met betrokken bedrijven gewoon doorgaan – is geen ‘drukmiddel’ maar een ‘gedoogmiddel’, bedoeld om de coalitie mogelijk te maken.

En ondertussen blijft Nederland samenwerken met een bezettingsleger dat de wereld dagelijks confronteert met massaal geweld tegen Palestijnse burgers. Je kunt niet enerzijds zeggen dat je pal staat voor de internationale rechtsorde en anderzijds militaire samenwerking normaliseren, aankopen doen bij Israëlische bedrijven die hun wapens testen op de Palestijnse bevolking, of de doorvoer en export van militair relevante goederen slechts gedeeltelijk begrenzen.

Aan de slag!

Dit kabinet doet niet wat veel Nederlanders vragen. Peilingen van Ipsos, Motivaction en EenVandaag wijzen uit dat een substantële meerderheid van de kiezers een rechtvaardiger Palestina-beleid wil, gebaseerd op concrete maatregelen tegen Israël: niet alleen een verbod op handel met de illegale nederzettingen, maar brede economische sancties en een stop op de wapenexport. Dit is, zoals wordt gesuggereerd, niet ‘te radicaal’ of ‘te ingewikkeld’ voor de samenleving, maar voor D66, VVD en CDA – partijen die niet voldoen aan hun verplichtingen onder internationaal recht omdat het ‘te ingewikkeld’ is voor hun coalitieakkoord.

Wie de Rode Lijn serieus neemt, moet ophouden met kruimels strooien en beginnen met daden die ertoe doen. Dat betekent ten minste:

  • Erken de Staat Palestina nu, niet ‘aan het eind van een proces’ dat ondertussen wordt gesaboteerd door annexatiepolitiek.
  • Een volledig wapenembargo: export, import, doorvoer en elke vorm van militaire samenwerking stopzetten — geen uitzonderingen die de regel uithollen.
  • Echte sancties: niet alleen tegen een paar ‘extremistische’ figuren, maar tegen verantwoordelijke bestuurders, entiteiten en bedrijven die geweld, bezetting en nederzettingen mogelijk maken.
  • Een volledig verbod op handel en investeringen die bijdragen aan nederzettingen en bezetting — inclusief financiële stromen, pensioenbeleggingen en publieke aanbestedingen.

Morele ondergrens

Dit kabinet belooft meer dan de vorige kabinetten. Dat kon ook moeilijk anders: de werkelijkheid heeft de oude praatlijnen ingehaald. De vraag is of het kabinet nu eindelijk kiest voor rechtvaardigheid, of opnieuw voor pappen-en-nathouden, met VVD en CDA op de rem en D66 dat ‘het maximaal haalbare’ verkoopt als moreel succes.

Broodkruimels zijn niet genoeg voor een bevolking die doelbewust wordt uitgehongerd. En ‘foei zeggen’ helpt niet tegen een regime dat zich al decennia schuldig maakt aan oorlogsmisdaden en misdaden tegen de menselijkheid. Op dit dossier bestaat geen middenweg. Wie met compromissen reageert op onrecht, kiest in de praktijk de kant van het onrecht.

De Rode Lijn is niet bedoeld als decor voor campagnefoto’s. Het is een morele ondergrens.

”Jetten was er met zijn coalitiepartners niet uitgekomen, zei hij tijdens het Tweede Kamerdebat over de regeringsverklaring van 25 en 26 februari. Een rechtvaardig beleid voor Palestijnen én Israëli’s, gebaseerd op het internationaal recht, bleek voor de VVD en het CDA onbespreekbaar. Die twee ‘kijken daar nét op een andere manier naar’, in de woorden van Jetten. Daar had hij zich bij neergelegd.”
THE RIGHTS FORUM
KABINET JETTEN BLIJFT ISRAEL BOVEN HET RECHT STELLEN
12 MAART 2026
D66 heeft het internationaal recht als wisselgeld gebruikt om met de VVD en het CDA te kunnen regeren. Daarvan doet zich nu het derde voorbeeld in twee weken voor, steeds met Israël als begunstigde.
alestina, Iran en Libanon. Die drie landen hebben gemeen dat zij door Israël in strijd met het internationaal recht worden aangevallen, en dat Nederland weigert die aanvallen expliciet te veroordelen. Het kabinet van premier Rob Jetten (D66) lijkt nog in veel op zijn voorgangers die steun aan Israël vooropstelden.

Palestina

Jetten was er met zijn coalitiepartners niet uitgekomen, zei hij tijdens het Tweede Kamerdebat over de regeringsverklaring van 25 en 26 februari. Een rechtvaardig beleid voor Palestijnen én Israëli’s, gebaseerd op het internationaal recht, bleek voor de VVD en het CDA onbespreekbaar. Die twee ‘kijken daar nét op een andere manier naar’, in de woorden van Jetten. Daar had hij zich bij neergelegd.

Dus is de kwestie-Palestina weer een ‘ingewikkeld conflict’, mag de Israëlische genocide in Gaza niet zo genoemd worden, en is erkenning van de Staat Palestina ondenkbaar: de VVD is mordicus tegen en het CDA stelt eigen voorwaarden aan het zelfbeschikkingsrecht van de Palestijnen.

Iran

Twee dagen na het debat startten Israël en de VS hun naar alle maatstaven illegale oorlog tegen Iran. Nederland liet na die te veroordelen. Sterker, het kabinet-Jetten toont er ‘begrip’ voor en zet met het uitzenden van het fregat Zr. Ms. Evertsen de eerste schreden op weg naar betrokkenheid. De kans bestaat dat Nederland zo de oorlog wordt ingerommeld, aan de zijde van de agressors.

Dat Israël en de VS het internationaal recht schenden – een feit dat door deskundigen uitvoerig is belicht – wilde het kabinet niet expliciet uitspreken. Na zware kritiek liet premier Jetten weten dat zowel de aanvallen van de VS en Israël als die van Iran ‘buiten de kaders van het internationaal recht vallen’. Maar, schrijft Trouw, diezelfde avond karakteriseerde Jettens coalitiegenoot en minister van Defensie Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD) dat standpunt als ‘morele verhevenheid’ waaraan vooral niet moet worden vastgehouden.

Eerder stelde minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Tom Berendsen (CDA) al dat ‘het internationaal recht niet het enige kader is dat je op de situatie kunt leggen’. Het kabinet hanteert ook eigen criteria. Want het Iraanse regime onderdrukt de bevolking en vormt een ‘dreiging voor de regio en de hele wereld’, volgens Berendsen. Dat zijn stuk voor stuk criteria die het kabinet ook ‘op Israël kan leggen’, zelfs moet leggen, maar dat al jaren nalaat.

Libanon

Intussen dient de derde testcase zich aan in Libanon, waar Israël 816.000 Libanese burgers heeft verdreven en hun woongebieden met de grond gelijk maakt. Dit als gevreesde opmaat naar permanente Israëlische bezetting en kolonisering van Zuid-Libanon – en daarmee de permanente verdrijving van de bevolking.

In het land dreigt een crisis, met de kans dat vluchtelingenstromen op gang komen naar instabiele buurlanden en de Europese Unie. Dit naast het risico dat het geweld in en rond Libanon escaleert, boven op de regionale schokgolven waar we al getuige van zijn.

Maar in Den Haag is het stil. Het kabinet maakt geen aanstalten om Israëls geweld in Libanon te veroordelen als een flagrante schending van het internationaal recht en als een ‘dreiging voor de regio en de hele wereld’.

Overeenkomsten

De overeenkomst tussen Palestina, Iran en Libanon is de complete destructie die Israël er aanricht, met als expliciet doel die staten te ontwrichten, ongeacht de gevolgen voor hun bevolkingen. De tweede overeenkomst is dat Nederland het laat gebeuren en bereid is daarvoor zijn verplichtingen onder het internationaal recht opzij te zetten – steeds met Israël als begunstigde.

Het verschil met de Nederlandse reactie op de Russische inval in Oekraïne is groot. Waar Rusland hard wordt gesanctioneerd, blijft een veroordeling van Israëls geweld driemaal achtereen uit – laat staan dat het land met sancties iets in de weg wordt gelegd.

Met zijn handelwijze ondermijnt het kabinet de internationale rechtsorde en Nederlands rol als consequente hoeder daarvan. Ook dreigt schade aan de belangen van Nederlandse burgers. Die kan serieuze vormen aannemen, schreef NRC in zijn Commentaar van 6 maart over de oorlog tegen Iran. De krant laat zien hoe de stijging van de olieprijs de inflatie aanjaagt en leidt tot een afname van de economische groei.

Van ver zien aankomen

Hoe kan een kabinet onder D66-leiderschap dat laten gebeuren? Het antwoord: de VVD en het CDA. Die kijken niet ‘nét op een andere manier’ naar Israëls schendingen van de rechtsorde, maar hebben daar een fundamenteel andere opvatting over.

Dat zag Jetten uiteraard van ver aankomen toen hij aanschoof bij de VVD en het CDA. De vraag was of hij dat in zijn eigen kabinet zou dulden, of dat hij een einde zou maken aan decennia van pro-Israëlbeleid. Jetten was in de positie om af te dwingen dat Nederland onder zijn hoede zal voldoen aan zijn verplichtingen onder internationaal recht. Dat heeft hij nagelaten.

Reacties uitgeschakeld voor NOOT 11/DUBBEL

Opgeslagen onder Divers

· 3:21 am

NOOT 10/DUBBEL

10]

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION CONCLUDES ISRAEL

IS COMMITTING GENOCIDE AGAINST PALESTINIANS IN GAZA

5 DECEMBER 2024

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/

Amnesty International’s research has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, the organization said in a landmark new report published today.

The report, ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, documents how, during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity.

“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now.

“States that continue to transfer arms to Israel at this time must know they are violating their obligation to prevent genocide and are at risk of becoming complicit in genocide. All states with influence over Israel, particularly key arms suppliers like the USA and Germany, but also other EU member states, the UK and others, must act now to bring Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza to an immediate end.”

Over the past two months the crisis has grown particularly acute in the North Gaza governorate, where a besieged population is facing starvation, displacement and annihilation amid relentless bombardment and suffocating restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid.

“Our research reveals that, for months, Israel has persisted in committing genocidal acts, fully aware of the irreparable harm it was inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza. It continued to do so in defiance of countless warnings about the catastrophic humanitarian situation and of legally binding decisions from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to take immediate measures to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” said Agnès Callamard.

“Israel has repeatedly argued that its actions in Gaza are lawful and can be justified by its military goal to eradicate Hamas. But genocidal intent can co-exist alongside military goals and does not need to be Israel’s sole intent.”

Amnesty International examined Israel’s acts in Gaza closely and in their totality, taking into account their recurrence and simultaneous occurrence, and both their immediate impact and their cumulative and mutually reinforcing consequences. The organization considered the scale and severity of the casualties and destruction over time. It also analysed public statements by officials, finding that prohibited acts were often announced or called for in the first place by high-level officials in charge of the war efforts.

“Taking into account the pre-existing context of dispossession, apartheid and unlawful military occupation in which these acts have been committed, we could find only one reasonable conclusion: Israel’s intent is the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, whether in parallel with, or as a means to achieve, its military goal of destroying Hamas,” said Agnès Callamard.

“The atrocity crimes committed on 7 October 2023 by Hamas and other armed groups against Israelis and victims of other nationalities, including deliberate mass killings and hostage-taking, can never justify Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

International jurisprudence recognizes that the perpetrator does not need to succeed in their attempts to destroy the protected group, either in whole or in part, for genocide to have been committed. The commission of prohibited acts with the intent to destroy the group, as such, is sufficient.

Amnesty International’s report examines in detail Israel’s violations in Gaza over nine months between 7 October 2023 and early July 2024. The organization interviewed 212 people, including Palestinian victims and witnesses, local authorities in Gaza, healthcare workers, conducted fieldwork and analysed an extensive range of visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery. It also analysed statements by senior Israeli government and military officials, and official Israeli bodies. On multiple occasions, the organization shared its findings with the Israeli authorities but had received no substantive response at the time of publication.

Unprecedented scale and magnitude

Israel’s actions following Hamas’s deadly attacks on 7 October 2023 have brought Gaza’s population to the brink of collapse. Its brutal military offensive had killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, including over 13,300 children, and injured over 97,000 more, by 7 October 2024, many of them in direct or deliberately indiscriminate attacks, often wiping out entire multigenerational families. It has caused unprecedented destruction, which experts say occurred at a level and speed not seen in any other conflict in the 21st century, levelling entire cities and destroying critical infrastructure, agricultural land and cultural and religious sites. It thereby rendered large swathes of Gaza uninhabitable.

Mohammed, who fled with his family from Gaza City to Rafah in March 2024 and was displaced again in May 2024, described their struggle to survive in horrifying conditions:

“Here in Deir al-Balah, it’s like an apocalypse… You have to protect your children from insects, from the heat, and there is no clean water, no toilets, all while the bombing never stops. You feel like you are subhuman here.”

Israel imposed conditions of life in Gaza that created a deadly mixture of malnutrition, hunger and diseases, and exposed Palestinians to a slow, calculated death. Israel also subjected hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza to incommunicado detention, torture and other ill-treatment.

Viewed in isolation, some of the acts investigated by Amnesty International constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law. But in looking at the broader picture of Israel’s military campaign and the cumulative impact of its policies and acts, genocidal intent is the only reasonable conclusion.

Intent to destroy

To establish Israel’s specific intent to physically destroy Palestinians in Gaza, as such, Amnesty International analysed the overall pattern of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, reviewed dehumanizing and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials, particularly those at the highest levels, and considered the context of Israel’s system of apartheid, its inhumane blockade of Gaza and the unlawful 57-year-old military occupation of the Palestinian territory.

Before reaching its conclusion, Amnesty International examined Israel’s claims that its military lawfully targeted Hamas and other armed groups throughout Gaza, and that the resulting unprecedented destruction and denial of aid were the outcome of unlawful conduct by Hamas and other armed groups, such as locating fighters among the civilian population or the diversion of aid. The organization concluded these claims are not credible. The presence of Hamas fighters near or within a densely populated area does not absolve Israel from its obligations to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians and avoid indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. Its research found Israel repeatedly failed to do so, committing multiple crimes under international law for which there can be no justification based on Hamas’s actions. Amnesty International also found no evidence that the diversion of aid could explain Israel’s extreme and deliberate restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid.

In its analysis, the organization also considered alternative arguments such as ones that Israel was acting recklessly or that it simply wanted to destroy Hamas and did not care if it needed to destroy Palestinians in the process, demonstrating a callous disregard for their lives rather than genocidal intent.

However, regardless of whether Israel sees the destruction of Palestinians as instrumental to destroying Hamas or as an acceptable by-product of this goal, this view of Palestinians as disposable and not worthy of consideration is in itself evidence of genocidal intent.

Many of the unlawful acts documented by Amnesty International were preceded by officials urging their implementation. The organization reviewed 102 statements that were issued by Israeli government and military officials and others between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024 and dehumanized Palestinians, called for or justified genocidal acts or other crimes against them.

Of these, Amnesty International identified 22 statements made by senior officials in charge of managing the offensive that appeared to call for, or justify, genocidal acts, providing direct evidence of genocidal intent. This language was frequently replicated, including by Israeli soldiers on the ground, as evidenced by audiovisual content verified by Amnesty International showing soldiers making calls to “erase” Gaza or to make it uninhabitable, and celebrating the destruction of Palestinian homes, mosques, schools and universities.

Killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm

Amnesty International documented the genocidal acts of killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinians in Gaza by reviewing the results of investigations it conducted into 15 air strikes between 7 October 2023 and 20 April 2024 that killed at least 334 civilians, including 141 children, and wounded hundreds of others. Amnesty International found no evidence that any of these strikes were directed at a military objective.

In one illustrative case, on 20 April 2024, an Israeli air strike destroyed the Abdelal family house in the Al-Jneinah neighbourhood in eastern Rafah, killing three generations of Palestinians, including 16 children, while they were sleeping.

While these represent just a fraction of Israel’s aerial attacks, they are indicative of a broader pattern of repeated direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects or deliberately indiscriminate attacks. The attacks were also conducted in ways designed to cause a very high number of fatalities and injuries among the civilian population.

Inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction

The report documents how Israel deliberately inflicted conditions of life on Palestinians in Gaza intended to lead, over time, to their destruction. These conditions were imposed through three simultaneous patterns that repeatedly compounded the effect of each other’s devastating impacts: damage to and destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure and other objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population; the repeated use of sweeping, arbitrary and confusing mass “evacuation” orders to forcibly displace almost all of Gaza’s population; and the denial and obstruction of the delivery of essential services, humanitarian assistance and other life-saving supplies into and within Gaza.

After 7 October 2023, Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza cutting off electricity, water and fuel. In the nine months reviewed for this report, Israel maintained a suffocating, unlawful blockade, tightly controlled access to energy sources, failed to facilitate meaningful humanitarian access within Gaza,  and obstructed the import and delivery of life-saving goods and humanitarian aid, particularly to areas north of Wadi Gaza. They thereby exacerbated an already existing humanitarian crisis. This, combined with the extensive damage to Gaza’s homes, hospitals, water and sanitation facilities and agricultural land, and mass forced displacement, caused catastrophic levels of hunger and led to the spread of diseases at alarming rates. The impact was especially harsh on young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, with anticipated long-term consequences for their health.

Time and again, Israel had the chance to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, yet for over a year it has repeatedly refused to take steps blatantly within its power to do so, such as opening sufficient access points to Gaza or lifting tight restrictions on what could enter the Strip  or their obstruction of aid deliveries within Gaza while the situation has grown progressively worse.

Through its repeated “evacuation” orders Israel displaced nearly 1.9 million Palestinians – 90% of Gaza’s population – into ever-shrinking, unsafe pockets of land under inhumane conditions, some of them up to 10 times. These multiple waves of forced displacement left many jobless and deeply traumatized, especially since some 70% of Gaza’s residents are refugees or descendants of refugees whose towns and villages were ethnically cleansed by Israel during the 1948 Nakba.

Despite conditions quickly becoming unfit for human life, Israeli authorities refused to consider measures that would have protected displaced civilians and ensured their basic needs were met, showing that their actions were deliberate.

They refused to allow those displaced to return to their homes in northern Gaza or relocate temporarily to other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory or Israel, continuing to deny many Palestinians their right to return under international law to areas they were displaced from in 1948. They did so knowing that there was nowhere safe for Palestinians in Gaza to flee to.

Accountability for genocide

“The international community’s seismic, shameful failure for over a year to press Israel to end its atrocities in Gaza, by first delaying calls for a ceasefire and then continuing arms transfers, is and will remain a stain on our collective conscience,” said Agnès Callamard.

“Governments must stop pretending they are powerless to end this genocide, which was enabled by decades of impunity for Israel’s violations of international law. States need to move beyond mere expressions of regret or dismay and take strong and sustained international action, however uncomfortable a finding of genocide may be for some of Israel’s allies.

“The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity issued last month offer real hope of long-overdue justice for victims. States must demonstrate their respect for the court’s decision and for universal international law principles by arresting and handing over those wanted by the ICC.

“We are calling on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to urgently consider adding genocide to the list of crimes it is investigating and for all states to use every legal avenue to bring perpetrators to justice. No one should be allowed to commit genocide and remain unpunished.”

Amnesty International is also calling for all civilian hostages to be released unconditionally and for Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups responsible for the crimes committed on 7 October to be held to account.

The organization is also calling for the UN Security Council to impose targeted sanctions against Israeli and Hamas officials most implicated in crimes under international law.

Background

On 7 October 2023 Hamas and other armed groups indiscriminately fired rockets into southern Israel and carried out deliberate mass killings and hostage-taking there, killing 1,200 people, including over 800 civilians, and abducted 223 civilians and captured 27 soldiers. The crimes perpetrated by Hamas and other armed groups during this attack will be the focus of a forthcoming Amnesty International report.

Since October 2023, Amnesty International has conducted in-depth investigations into the multiple violations and crimes under international law committed by Israeli forces, including direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and deliberately indiscriminate attacks killing hundreds of civilians, as well as other unlawful attacks on and collective punishment of the civilian population. The organization has called on the Office of the ICC Prosecutor to expedite its investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine and is campaigning for an immediate ceasefire.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY:

”YOU FEEL YOU ARE SUBHUMAN”:

ISRAEL’S GENOCIDE AGAINST PALESTINIANS IN GAZA

5 DECEMBER 2024

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/8668/2024/en/

This report documents Israel’s actions during its offensive on the occupied Gaza Strip from 7 October 2023. It examines the killing of civilians, damage to and destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcible displacement, the obstruction or denial of life-saving goods and humanitarian aid, and the restriction of power supplies. It analyses Israel’s intent through this pattern of conduct and statements by Israeli decision-makers. It concludes that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
A stand-alone executive summary is available in English and other languages: ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza: Executive Summary (Index: MDE 15/8744/2024).

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT

YOU FEEL YOU ARE SUBHUMAN

ISRAEL’S GENOCIDE AGAINST PALESTINIANS IN GAZA

DECEMBER 2024

file:///C:/Users/Astrid/Downloads/MDE1586682024ENGLISH%20(2).pdf

ZIE OOK

https://www.astridessed.nl/amnesty-international-investigation-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Israel’s Crime of Extermination, Acts of Genocide in Gaza

Authorities’ Widespread Deprivation of Water Threatens Survival

19 DECEMBER 2024

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/19/israels-crime-extermination-acts-genocide-gaza

  • Israeli authorities have deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the population in Gaza by intentionally depriving Palestinian civilians there of adequate access to water, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths.
  • In doing so, Israeli authorities are responsible for the crime against humanity of extermination and for acts of genocide. The pattern of conduct, coupled with statements suggesting that some Israeli officials wished to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, may amount to the crime of genocide.
  • Governments and international organizations should take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza, including discontinuing military assistance, reviewing bilateral agreements and diplomatic relations, and supporting the International Criminal Court and other accountability efforts.

(Jerusalem) – Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinian civilians in Gaza of adequate access to water since October 2023, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths and thus committing the crime against humanity of extermination and acts of genocide, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

In the 179-page report, “Extermination and Acts of Genocide: Israel Deliberately Depriving Palestinians in Gaza of Water,” Human Rights Watch found that Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinians in Gaza of access to safe water for drinking and sanitation needed for basic human survival. Israeli authorities and forces cut off and later restricted piped water to Gaza; rendered most of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure useless by cutting electricity and restricting fuel; deliberately destroyed and damaged water and sanitation infrastructure and water repair materials; and blocked the entry of critical water supplies.

“Water is essential for human life, yet for over a year the Israeli government has deliberately denied Palestinians in Gaza the bare minimum they need to survive,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch. “This isn’t just negligence; it is a calculated policy of deprivation that has led to the deaths of thousands from dehydration and disease that is nothing short of the crime against humanity of extermination, and an act of genocide.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed 66 Palestinians from Gaza, 4 employees of Gaza’s Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), 31 healthcare professionals, and 15 people working with United Nations agencies and international aid organizations in Gaza. Human Rights Watch also analyzed satellite imagery, photographs, and videos captured between the beginning of the hostilities in October 2023 and September 2024, as well as data collected and estimates produced by doctors, epidemiologists, humanitarian aid organizations, and water and sanitation experts.

Human Rights Watch concluded that Israeli authorities have intentionally created conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza in whole or in part. This policy, inflicted as part of a mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, means Israeli authorities have committed the crime against humanity of extermination, which is ongoing. This policy also amounts to one of the five “acts of genocide” under the Genocide Convention of 1948. Genocidal intent may also be inferred from this policy, coupled with statements suggesting some Israeli officials wished to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, and therefore the policy may amount to the crime of genocide.

Immediately after the attacks in southern Israel by Hamas-led Palestinian armed groups in Gaza on October 7, 2023, which Human Rights Watch has found amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Israeli authorities cut all electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip. On October 9, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a “complete siege” of Gaza, stating: “There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, everything is closed.”

That same day, and for weeks thereafter, Israeli authorities cut off all water and blocked fuel, food, and humanitarian aid from entering the strip. Israeli authorities continue to restrict the entry of water, fuel, food, and aid into Gaza and to cut Gaza’s electricity, which is required to operate life-sustaining infrastructure. This continued even after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisional measures in January, March, and May 2024 ordering Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians in Gaza from genocide and, in so doing, provide humanitarian aid, specifying in March that this includes water, food, electricity, and fuel.

Israeli authorities have also barred nearly all water-related aid from entering Gaza, including water filtration systems, water tanks, and materials needed to repair water infrastructure.

Between October 2023 and August 2024, the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, the UN, and other sources reported that people in Gaza did not have access to the minimum amount of water needed for survival in long-term emergency situations. In northern Gaza, the UN reported that people did not have access to potable water for over five months, between November 2023 and April 2024. While a study of water access in August showed that people’s access to water had increased, most people still did not have adequate water needed for drinking and cooking.

Human Rights Watch found that Israeli forces have deliberately attacked and damaged or destroyed several major water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities. In several cases, Human Rights Watch found evidence that Israeli ground forces were in control of the areas at the time, indicating that the destruction was deliberate.

The decimation of Gaza’s healthcare system, including healthcare tracking, has meant that confirmed cases of disease, illnesses, and deaths possibly linked to water-borne disease, dehydration, and starvation are not being systematically tracked or reported. However, based on interviews with healthcare professionals and epidemiologists, it is likely that thousands of people have died as a result of the Israeli authorities’ actions. The deaths are in addition to the more than 44,000 people directly killed in the hostilities, as recorded by Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Hundreds of thousands of people have also contracted diseases and health conditions to which the lack of access to safe and sufficient water has likely caused or contributed, including diarrhea, hepatitis A, skin diseases, and upper respiratory infections. Water deprivation is particularly harmful to infants, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people with disabilities.

The crime of genocide requires committing acts of genocide with genocidal intent. The ICJ has said that to infer such intent from a pattern of conduct by the state, it needs to be “the only reasonable inference to be drawn” from the acts in question. Human Rights Watch’s findings, and statements from Israeli officials suggesting that they wished to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza, may indicate such intent.

Human Rights Watch also found that some statements from senior Israeli officials calling for cutting water, fuel, and aid, in tandem with their actions, have amounted to direct and public incitement to genocide.

The Israeli government’s continuing blockade of Gaza, as well as its more than 17-year closure of the strip, also amounts to collective punishment of the civilian population, a war crime. The closure also constitutes part of the continuing crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution that Israeli authorities have been committing against Palestinians.

Several governments have undermined accountability efforts and continue to provide the Israeli government with arms despite the clear risk of complicity in serious violations of international humanitarian law.

“Governments should not contribute to the grave crimes that Israeli officials are committing in Gaza, including crimes against humanity and genocidal acts, and should take all steps possible to prevent further harm,” Hassan said. “Governments arming Israel should end their risk of complicity in atrocity crimes in Gaza and take immediate action to protect civilians with an arms embargo, targeted sanctions, and support for justice.”

THE END

BTSELEM.ORG

OUR GENOCIDE

https://www.btselem.org/publications/202507_our_genocide

Since October 2023, Israel has shifted its policy toward the Palestinians. Its military onslaught on Gaza, underway for more than 21 months, has included mass killing, both directly and through creating unlivable conditions, serious bodily or mental harm to an entire population, decimation of basic infrastructure throughout the Strip, and forcible displacement on a huge scale, with ethnic cleansing added to the list of official war objectives.

This is compounded by mass arrests and abuse of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, which have effectively become torture camps, and tearing apart the social fabric of Gaza, including the destruction of Palestinian educational and cultural institutions. The campaign is also an assault on Palestinian identity itself, through the deliberate destruction of refugee camps and attempts to undermine the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

An examination of Israel’s policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack, leads to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip. In other words: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. 

The term genocide refers to a socio-historical and political phenomenon involving acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. Both morally and legally, genocide cannot be justified under any circumstance, including as an act of self-defense.

Genocide always occurs within a context: there are conditions that enable it, triggering events, and a guiding ideology. The current onslaught on the Palestinian people, including in the Gaza Strip, must be understood in the context of more than seventy years in which Israel has imposed a violent and discriminatory regime on the Palestinians, taking its most extreme form against those living in the Gaza Strip. Since the State of Israel was established, the apartheid and occupation regime has institutionalized and systematically employed mechanisms of violent control, demographic engineering, discrimination, and fragmentation of the Palestinian collective. These foundations laid by the regime are what made it possible to launch a genocidal attack on the Palestinians immediately after the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023.

The assault on Palestinians in Gaza cannot be separated from the escalating violence being inflicted, at varying levels and in different forms, on Palestinians living under Israeli rule in the West Bank and within Israel. The violence and destruction in these areas is intensifying over time, with no effective domestic or international mechanism acting to halt them. We warn of the clear and present danger that the genocide will not remain confined to the Gaza Strip, and that the actions and underlying mindset driving it may be extended to other areas as well. 

The recognition that the Israeli regime is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, and the deep concern that it may expand to other areas where Palestinians live under Israeli rule, demand urgent and unequivocal action from both Israeli society and the international community, and use of every means available under international law to stop Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is genocide?

How did you reach the conclusion that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza?

How did we get to a point where the Israeli regime is committing genocide against the Palestinians?

Why does the report warn of a risk that the genocide will spread to other areas under Israeli control?

How does the report address the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023?

 

What needs to be done now?

SEE THE REPORT

Reacties uitgeschakeld voor NOOT 10/DUBBEL

Opgeslagen onder Divers

· 3:19 am

NOOT 9/DUBBEL

9]
‘Minister-president Jetten zegt tegen de NOS dat hij de actie “schandalig” en “onbegrijpelijk” vindt.”
NOS

Politici veroordelen bekladding Nationaal Monument op de Dam

ZIE VOOR GEHELE TEKST, NOOT 3

Reacties uitgeschakeld voor NOOT 9/DUBBEL

Opgeslagen onder Divers

· 3:18 am

NOOT 8/DUBBEL

[8]
””We lopen hier met 80 000 mensen door Den Haag.
Echt een onwijs kippenvel moment, dat zoveel Nederlanders vandaag een
rode lijn trekken tegen het geweld in Gaza en het kabinet oproepen
om zich eindelijk uit te spreken tegen de brute misdaden die Netanyahu
begaat tegen het Palestijnse volk.
Laten we duidelijk zijn.
In Nederland trekken we een rode lijn tegen dit soort groot humanitair onrecht.”
ZIE NOOT 15
NOOT 15 IS DE NOOT BEHORENDE BIJ DIT ARTIKEL

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· 3:17 am

NOOT 7/DUBBEL

[7]
”Minister-president Jetten zegt tegen de NOS dat hij de actie “schandalig” en “onbegrijpelijk” vindt.”
NOS

Politici veroordelen bekladding Nationaal Monument op de Dam

ZIE VOOR GEHELE TEKST, NOOT 3

Reacties uitgeschakeld voor NOOT 7/DUBBEL

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· 3:15 am

NOOT 6/DUBBEL

6]
‘Dit om de hypocrisie van de herdenkingsdag op 4 mei aan de kaak te stellen, waar de slachtoffers van de Holocaust en de Tweede Wereldoorlog worden herdacht, maar de stilte over de voortdurende genocide oorverdovend is. Later vandaag zullen de koning en de premier bloemen leggen bij het monument, terwijl het bloed van Palestijnen, Libanezen en Iraniërs aan hun handen kleeft.’
HET PAROOL

Nationaal Monument op de Dam weer schoon na bekladding, politie zoekt drie verdachten

ZIE VOOR GEHELE TEKST NOOT 1A
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Middle East Conflict: Rhetoric, Actions Flout Laws of War

World Leaders Should Unite to Defend Fundamental Protections for Civilians

26 MARCH 2026

https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/26/middle-east-conflict-rhetoric-actions-flout-laws-of-war

(New York, March 26, 2026) – The geographic spread, speed of escalation, and open disregard for international norms by all parties one month into the Middle East conflict are a critical stress test for the international legal order created to protect civilians during armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said today.

Statements by top officials from the United States, Israel, and Iran demonstrate a willingness to violate fundamental protections of international humanitarian law, reveal callous disregard for civilian life and property, and signal that those in power do not consider themselves bound by the law. All world leaders should urgently speak out in defense of the rules that protect civilians everywhere, strongly condemn violations, and demand accountability.

“As the Middle East conflict has spread and intensified, so too has the dangerous rhetoric by leaders on all sides, including open threats to commit war crimes,” said Philippe Bolopion, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “This explosive combination, building on world leaders’ longstanding failure to hold those responsible for serious violations of international law to account, is threatening the rules-based order that has long sought to protect civilians.”

Since the United States and Israel began their assault on Iran on February 28, 2026, and as Iran responded and Israel escalated attacks in Lebanon, all parties to the conflict have been responsible for serious violations of the laws of war, including possible war crimes. Officials’ inflammatory public statements have included open threats to kill civilians and destroy critical civilian infrastructure, suggestions that abuses by one side justify abuses by the other, and dismissal of international law and rules of engagement.

US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have in the past month alone made numerous public statements showing disregard for international humanitarian law, also called the laws of war.

Hegseth stated on March 13 that “no quarter” would be given to “our enemies” in Iran. Declaring no quarter––the refusal to spare enemy combatants’ lives by accepting their surrender––is a war crime.

On March 21, President Trump warned in a social media post that, if Iran didn’t “FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS,” the United States “will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Trump later postponed but did not revoke his threat.

The laws of war protect from attack civilian infrastructure and objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population––which could include power plants, oil and gas facilities, and water desalination plants––and attacks on these facilities could amount to war crimes. Even if such infrastructure is used in part for military purposes, an attack would likely be disproportionate and thus unlawful.

Iran’s reply to Trump’s statement indicated a willingness to commit a similar violation. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters spokesman, Ebrahim Zolfaqari, responded to Trump’s post by stating that if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure were attacked, “then all electricity power plants, energy infrastructure, and information technology systems of the Zionist regime in the region will be struck on a wide scale… all similar infrastructure which have American shareholders will be fully destroyed… [and] all electricity power plants in countries in the region that host American bases will be legitimate targets.”

Iranian officials have also claimed that all of a country’s companies, banks, and commercial ships are military objectives, which violates the presumption under the laws of war that they are protected civilian objects.

Iranian authorities have also threatened to commit further human rights violations against their own population, as they have done repeatedly, including in January, when security forces carried out countrywide massacres of protesters and bystanders.

Ahmad-Reza Radan, the commander of the Iranian police force, told state television in a program aired on March 10 that if people take to the streets “at the will of the enemy,” then “we will not see them as a protester or something else; we will see them as the enemy and do with them what we do with the enemy. … All of our guys are ready with their fingers on the triggers to safeguard their revolution, to back their people and country.” The next day, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Intelligence Organization issued a statement warning that any protests would be faced “with [even] a harsher blow than that of January 8.”

Senior Israeli officials and military leaders have also made numerous problematic statements, including threats to carry out unlawful attacks in Iran and Lebanon. The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson issued a statement on X on March 3 calling for representatives of the Iranian government to leave Lebanon before they would be targeted.

Attacks targeting political leaders or government officials are prohibited unless the leader is a member of the armed forces or a civilian directly participating in hostilities. Deliberately attacking a civilian violates the laws of war, and constitutes a war crime.

Statements about Lebanon by Israeli officials also indicate an intent to forcibly displace residents, destroy civilian homes, and conduct strikes that could target civilians, all violations of the laws of war.

During armed conflict, such warnings, threats to commit serious crimes, and other dangerous rhetoric have been followed by military action that violates the laws of war and has had grave consequences for civilians across the region.

Serious violations of the laws of war during the first month of conflict include:
  • A US attack on a primary school in Minab in southern Iran that killed scores of civilians, including many children;
  • Israel’s use of white phosphorus over homes and targeting of financial institutions in Lebanon;
  • Iranian attacks on hotels, residential buildings, financial centers, and airports in the Gulf;
  • Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz;
  • Israeli and Iranian attacks on oil and gas infrastructure; and
  • Iran’s use of internationally banned cluster munitions in attacks on Israel.

The attacks, as well as the threat of attacks, on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and on oil and natural gas facilities in Iran and the Gulf states also appear to have contributed to significant global cost increases in energy and may also result in cost increases in food, fertilizer essential for agriculture, and transportation worldwide, as well as significant environmental damage.

This could cause economic catastrophe and food insecurity to civilians in Iran and across the Gulf and economically marginalized people across the globe. The World Food Programme estimates that almost 45 million more people could fall into acute food insecurity or worse should the conflict continue through the middle of the year and if oil prices remain above US$100 per barrel.

The toll of the conflict on civilians so far, and the extent of violations and potential war crimes, remains unknown, in part due to censorship by involved governments. In Iran, the government has imposed an unlawful blanket internet shutdown and arrested hundreds of people for alleged contact with media outlets outside Iran, taking footage of strike sites, and sending such footage to the media.

In the United States, Trump and Hegseth have attacked the media for its Iran coverage, and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr accused media outlets of publishing “fake news” and threatened their broadcasting licenses.

Israeli officials have banned live broadcasts of city skylines, prohibited the reporting of precise locations of missile or rocket impacts, and detained journalists deemed to have violated these restrictions.

Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, have also detained people for allegedly posting images and footage of attacks on social media.

In Lebanon, the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah has banned all filming “under any circumstances” in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

In the face of this disregard for international humanitarian law and the potential far-reaching consequences of this conflict for civilians across the globe, world leaders––including allies of the United States, Israel, and Iran––should speak out for the need to respect international human rights and humanitarian law, strongly condemn violations, insist on accountability, and ensure that they are not complicit in serious violations by the warring parties.

Common Article 1 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions provides that states “undertake to respect and to ensure respect” for the conventions “in all circumstances.” This obligation binds the parties to the conflict in the Middle East to respect the conventions and ensure their respect by their armed forces at all times, regardless of the conduct of other parties.

The International Committee of the Red Cross’ authoritative commentary on the Geneva Conventions states that to “ensure respect” requires all states parties to the conventions “take proactive steps” to stop violations of the conventions and to “bring an erring Party to a conflict back to an attitude of respect for the Conventions, in particular by using their influence on that Party.” It includes the obligation “to prevent violations when there is a foreseeable risk that they will be committed.” Customary international humanitarian law also provides that states must exert their influence, to the degree possible, to stop violations of international humanitarian law.

The current Middle East conflict is occurring in the context of ongoing war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide in Gaza––committed by Israel with significant support from the United States since October 7, 2023––and Iran’s crimes against humanity against its own population. Impunity for these crimes and states failing to consistently apply international humanitarian law elsewhere, including in Sudan and Ukraine, have contributed to the dangerous disregard of the rules designed to protect civilians in war occurring today.

“The words of leaders are especially consequential during wartime,” Bolopion said. “Rhetoric that mocks or dismisses the laws of war is dangerously corrosive and can be seen to encourage grave violations that inevitably prove harmful to civilians. It’s increasingly clear that other governments urgently need to weigh in and press for greater protection of civilians.”

Additional concerning statements by US officials, some of which threaten to violate international humanitarian law, include:
  • On March 2, Hegseth said that the United States was fighting the war in Iran with “No stupid rules of engagement,” reflecting comments he made throughout 2025 about “overbearing” and “burdensome” rules of engagement and “tepid legality,” and in 2024 that the United States “should fight by its own rules” and not “by rules written by dignified men… eighty years ago.”
  • On March 9, Trump said the US Navy sank Iran’s warship off the coast of Sri Lanka because “it’s more fun” to sink ships than capture them.
  • Also on March 9, Trump said that the United States could strike to “make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign [sic] upon them.”
  • On March 13, Trump stated that the United States had “demolished” Kharg Island, a small island critical for Iran’s oil export infrastructure, but may strike “a few more times just for fun.”
  • Also on March 13, Trump said that while the United States had “so far… chosen not to,” it could strike “power plants that create the electricity, that create[KA1] the water. … We could do things that would be so bad they could literally never rebuild as a nation again.”
Additional concerning statements by Iranian officials, some of which threaten to violate international humanitarian law, include:
  • A spokesman from Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said on March 8 that “every point that serves as the origin of aggression against Iran is a legitimate target.”
  • On March 14, a media outlet affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that American “companies will be the legitimate targets for Iran’s Armed Forces,” listing a number of US management consulting and investment firms.
  • Also on March 14, an IRGC spokesperson posted: “The attack on American bank branches was in response to the enemy’s attack on 2 Iranian banks. If the enemy repeats this action, all branches of American banks in the region will be our legitimate target.”
  • On March 16, Brig. Gen. Ali Mohammad Naini, an IRGC spokesman who was reportedly killed in an Israeli attack on March 20, stated that Iranian forces had targeted all vessels owned by a US or Israeli entity, regardless of their flag country.
Additional concerning statements by Israeli officials, some of which threaten to violate international humanitarian law, include:
  • Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on March 16 that “hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents of southern Lebanon … will not return to their homes south of the Litani [River] area until the safety of Israel’s northern residents is guaranteed.”
  • In a video clip posted on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s X account on March 17, Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee joke about a “punch card” listing individuals the Israelis are targeting in Iran. Netanyahu says: “We’re wiping them out,” and Huckabee says: “I love it.”
  • On March 22, Katz threatened to “hit Iran so hard it will be sent back decades” and to implement house demolition policies across Lebanon’s southern border villages like those seen in Gaza.
  • The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson repeatedly posted orders on X to people in Lebanon, saying that they “will not hesitate to target anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities or means of combat” in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
23 MARCH 2026

Israeli Officials Signal Stepped-Up Atrocities in Lebanon

Risk of Forcible Displacement, Wanton Destruction, Threat of Strikes on Civilians

https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/23/israeli-officials-signal-stepped-up-atrocities-in-lebanon

(Beirut) – Israeli forces have expanded ground operations in southern Lebanon after indicating an intent to forcibly displace residents, destroy civilian homes and conduct strikes that could target civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. Forcible displacement, wanton destruction and attacks deliberately targeting civilians are war crimes. Countries that continue to provide Israel with arms and military aid risk complicity in the Israeli government’s serious violations in Lebanon.

On March 22, Israel’s defense Minister, Israel Katz, issued a statement announcing that he and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have “ordered the acceleration of the demolition of Lebanese houses in the border villages in order to thwart threats to Israeli communities – in accordance with the Beit Hanoun and Rafah models in Gaza.” On March 16, 2026, Katz said that “hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents of southern Lebanon […] will not return to their homes south of the Litani area until the safety of Israel’s northern residents is guaranteed.” Displacement orders issued by the Israeli military to residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut between March 11 and 15 further stated that the Israeli military “will not hesitate to target anyone who is present near Hezbollah members, facilities, or means of combat.”

“For over two years, Israel’s allies and European states that purport to support and uphold human rights have buried their heads in the sand as atrocities continue in Lebanon, as in Gaza,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Atrocities flourish when there is impunity, and other countries should no longer stand by as they continue.”

Since the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,029 people in Lebanon, including 118 children and 40 medical workers, as of March 22 according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. In recent days, Hezbollah has fired an average of about 150 rockets per day, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah attacks have injured at least 15 people in Israel, according to Israeli mediareports.

On March 4 and 5, the Israeli military issued displacement orders for the entire population of Lebanon south of the Litani River and all residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, which include hundreds of thousands of people. Since March 12, the Israeli military has expanded the areas subject to displacement orders, ordering residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate north of the Zahrani River, 15 kilometers north of the Litani River, and 40 kilometers north of Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. Over a million people have been displaced in Lebanon thus far.

The Israeli defense minister’s statement, indicating that Shiite residents of southern Lebanon will be prevented from returning to their homes until an undetermined safety standard for Israel’s northern residents is guaranteed, signals that Israel will prevent residents from returning to their homes for an indefinite period. The sweeping nature of the displacement orders, and the statements that do not address the protection of the displaced civilians, raises concerns of the war crime of forced displacement, Human Rights Watch said.

Singling out Shiite residents further indicates that Israel is imposing such measures based on their religion, a human rights violation, and further indicates that the residents’ security is not the aim of the displacement.

Ordering the Israeli military to accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes raises serious risk of the war crime of wanton destruction and violations of the prohibition under international law against deliberately destroying civilian property except when necessary for lawful military reasons. The mere possibility of future military use by armed groups of some civilian structures cannot under the laws of war justify the wide-scale destruction of whole homes across Lebanon’s border.

Between March 11 and 15, the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson issued at least five nearly identical displacement orders for residents of seven neighborhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs, after first issuing a sweeping displacement order for entire southern suburbs of Beirut on March 5. The statement ordered residents to “evacuate the area immediately” and called on them to “not return to those neighborhoods until further notice.”

The orders further stated that the Israeli military “will not hesitate to target anyone who is present near Hezbollah members, facilities, or means of combat.” This differs from previous orders issued to residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, which stated, for example, that “Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities or means of combat is putting their lives at risk.”

On March 5, minister in the defense ministry, Bezalel Smotrich, who sits on the security cabinet and also serves as Israel’s finance minister, recorded a video statement standing at the Israel-Lebanon border, stating that “very soon, Dahieh [Beirut’s southern suburb] will look like Khan Younis,” in Gaza. Human Rights Watch has previously documented war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide by the Israeli military in Gaza.

These statements, combined with Israeli forces’ previous conduct of war in Lebanon, raise serious concern that the Israeli military may target civilians, based solely on their presence in or proximity to areas where Hezbollah is present.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have committed numerous violations of the laws of war and apparent war crimes in Lebanon with total impunity, including apparently deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on journalists, civilians, medics, financial institutions, reconstruction-related facilities, and peacekeepers. They have also unlawfully used white phosphorus in populated areas, among other violations. Human Rights Watch has documented several unlawful attacks in Lebanon using US-made weapons.

Civilians who chose to stay in areas subject to displacement orders in southern Lebanon are particularly at risk of being cut-off from food and medicine supplies and other aid, Human Rights Watch said.

In a statement published on March 18, the Israeli Military Arabic spokesperson said that bridges crossing over the Litani River into southern Lebanon would be struck “to prevent the movement of reinforcements and means of combat” into southern Lebanon. Between March 13 and 22, the Israeli military said that it struck at least four Litani River bridges.

Hezbollah should take all feasible precautions to protect civilians in its operations in Lebanon and Israel.

Civilians who do not evacuate following orders are still fully protected by international humanitarian law. Forced displacement is prohibited under the laws of war, except in cases in which civilian security is involved or for imperative military reasons.

A person who commits serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent—that is, intentionally or recklessly—may be prosecuted for war crimes. Individuals may also be held criminally liable for assisting in, facilitating, aiding, or abetting a war crime.

Lebanon’s judicial authorities should initiate domestic investigations of serious international crimes, and the government should accede to the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute and submit a declaration accepting the court’s jurisdiction prior to the date of accession, including since at least October 7, 2023.

Israel’s key allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, should suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel and impose targeted sanctions on officials credibly responsible for ongoing serious abuses. They should levy further pressure on Israel to ensure that displaced residents can return to their homes once hostilities end or once the reasons for their displacement cease to exist.

“The Israeli military does not get to decide when civilians lose protections afforded by international law nor should it be allowed to prevent displaced residents from returning to their homes based on some undefined ‘safety’ standard,” Kaiss said. “Deliberately targeting civilians, civilian objects, and others protected under international law would be a war crime, and countries supplying Israel with weapons need to realize they are risking complicity in war crimes too.”

Correction

The date by which 1,029 people had been killed in Lebanon according to Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry has been corrected in this version, to March 22.

END

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Lebanon: Israel Unlawfully Using White Phosphorus

Human Rights Watch Verifies Use of Incendiary Weapon over Residential Areas in Southern Lebanon

9 MARCH 2026

https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/09/lebanon-israel-unlawfully-using-white-phosphorus

Update, March 9, 2026: Since the press release was published, the reported death toll from Israeli attacks has risen to 394, as of March 8.

(Beirut) – The Israeli military unlawfully used artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions over homes on March 3, 2026, in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor, Human Rights Watch said today.

Human Rights Watch verified and geolocated eight images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions being deployed over a residential part of the town and civil defense workers responding to fires in at least two homes and one car in that area.

“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The incendiary effects of white phosphorous can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering.”

White phosphorus is a chemical substance dispersed in artillery shells, bombs, and rockets that ignites when exposed to oxygen. It can set homes, agricultural areas, and other civilian objects on fire. Under international humanitarian law, the use of airburst white phosphorus is unlawfully indiscriminate in populated areas and does not meet the legal requirement to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm.

Human Rights Watch verified and geolocated an image posted on social media the morning of March 3, showing at least two artillery-delivered white phosphorus munitions being airburst over a residential neighborhood in the town of Yohmor in southern Lebanon. Human Rights Watch identified the shape of the smoke cloud caused by the airbursts in the picture as entirely consistent with the “knuckle” made by the expelling and bursting charges of the M825-series 155mm artillery projectile that contains white phosphorous.

Earlier that day, at 5:27 a.m, Avichay Adraee, Israel’s Arabic military spokesperson, issued an order stating that residents of Yohmor and 50 other villages and towns “should immediately evacuate [their homes] and move away from the villages to a distance of at least 1,000 meters outside the village to open land.” Adraee repeated the statement at 12:12 p.m. that day. Human Rights Watch has not verified whether people were in the area or injured as a result of white phosphorus use.

Human Rights Watch has previously documented the Israeli military’s widespread use of white phosphorus between October 2023 and May 2024 across border villages in southern Lebanon, which put civilians at grave risk and contributed to civilian displacement.

White phosphorus can be used for multiple purposes, including to obscure, mark, signal, or directly attack military personnel and materiel. Concerns over its use in populated areas are amplified by the technique shown in videos of air-bursting white phosphorus projectiles, which spread 116 burning felt wedges impregnated with the substance over an area between 125 and 250 meters in diameter, depending on the altitude and angle of the burst, indiscriminately exposing more civilians and civilian structures to potential harm than a localized ground burst.

Human Rights Watch also verified and geolocated photographs posted to Facebook at 11:34 a.m. and 1:36 p.m. by the Civil Defense Team of the Islamic Health Committee in Yohmor, which is affiliated with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. The photographs show workers extinguishing fires on residential rooftops and in a car and smoke emerging from the balconies of a home, which the Civil Defense Team attributed to white phosphorous. The geolocated sites were inside a radius of less than 160 meters.

Human Rights Watch analysis indicates the fire was likely caused by felt wedges impregnated with white phosphorus given the proximity of the house and the car to the area where airburst munitions were observed, indicating that the munitions were used unlawfully over concentrations of civilians.

Since the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2, at least 217 people have been killed in Lebanon as of March 6, according to the health ministry, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

The Israeli military has issued displacement orders for the entire population of Lebanon south of the Litani River and all residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, which include hundreds of thousands of people. The sweeping nature of the Israeli military’s displacement orders raises concerns that their primary purpose is not to protect civilians but to instead spread terror and panic, especially in the context of recent large-scale displacement of civilians in Lebanon, raising serious risks of the war crime of forced displacement, Human Rights Watch said.

Israel should prohibit all use of airburst artillery-delivered white phosphorus munitions in populated areas because it puts civilians at risk of indiscriminate attacks. There are available alternatives to white phosphorus in smoke shells, including some produced by Israeli companies such as the M150 smoke projectile, which the Israeli army has used in the past as an obscurant, a means of hindering the visibility of its forces. These alternatives can have the same effect and dramatically reduce the harm to civilians.

Human Rights Watch has urged Israel’s key allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, to suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel and impose targeted sanctions on officials credibly implicated in grave crimes. Lebanon’s judicial authorities should initiate domestic investigations of serious international crimes, and the government should accede to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Rome Statute and submit a declaration accepting the court’s jurisdiction prior to the date of accession, including since at least October 7, 2023.

Israel’s widespread use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon highlights the need for stronger international law on incendiary weapons, Human Rights Watch said. Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons is the only legally binding instrument dedicated specifically to incendiary weapons. Lebanon is party to Protocol III, while Israel is not.

Protocol III applies to weapons that are “primarily designed” to set fires or cause burns, and thus excludes certain multipurpose munitions with incendiary effects, notably those containing white phosphorus. In addition, it has weaker regulations for the use in “concentrations of civilians” of ground-launched incendiary weapons—like the ones used in Lebanon—than airdropped incendiary weapons, even though they produce the same horrific injuries.

“Concentrations of civilians” is defined broadly to encompass populated areas ranging from villages to refugee camps to cities. Human Rights Watch and many countries have long called for closing these loopholes in Protocol III and creating international norms that better protect civilians from the harm caused by incendiary weapons.

“Israel should immediately halt this practice and states providing Israel with weapons, including white phosphorus munitions, should immediately suspend military assistance and arms sales and push Israel to stop firing such munitions in residential areas,” Kaiss said.

Correction

March 9, 2026: This version of the news release was updated to accurately reflect the number of images verified and geolocated by Human Rights Watch.

END

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· 3:13 am

NOOT 5/DUBBEL

[5]
THE RIGHTS FORUM

Nieuw rapport Francesca Albanese: martelen Palestijnen is onderdeel van genocide

25 MAART 2026
Israël maakt zich op grote schaal schuldig aan marteling in Palestina, schrijft Francesca Albanese, speciaal VN-rapporteur voor de bezette Palestijnse Gebieden, in haar nieuwste rapport. Marteling, zowel in gevangenissen als daarbuiten, gebeurt zo systematisch dat het op zichzelf een genocidale daad is, concludeert ze.
Het rapport met de titel ‘Marteling en genocide’ werd vrijdag 20 maart gepresenteerd. Martelen is altijd al onderdeel geweest van Israëls behandeling van het Palestijnse volk, stelt Albanese, maar sinds oktober 2023 wordt het ingezet op een schaal die wijst op ‘collectieve wraak’ en ‘de opzet om te vernietigen’. Palestijnen die in hechtenis zitten, worden onderworpen aan ‘buitengewoon meedogenloos fysiek en psychologisch misbruik’. Maar ook buiten de gevangenissen en martelcentra is marteling aan de orde van de dag, schrijft Albanese:
Door de zich opstapelende impact van massale ontheemding, belegering, het onthouden van hulp en voedsel, ongebreideld militair en kolonistengeweld en alomtegenwoordige surveillance en terreur, is het bezette Palestijnse gebied nu een ruimte van collectieve bestraffing. Genocidaal geweld is een instrument van collectieve marteling geworden, met langdurige mentale en fysieke gevolgen voor de bezette bevolking.

Albanese heeft voor haar onderzoek driehonderd getuigenissen verzameld via verschillende Israëlische en Palestijnse organisaties, ze heeft (op afstand, want Israël laat haar niet toe) met juristen en overlevenden van marteling gepraat, verklaringen van Israëlische klokkenluiders meegenomen en allerlei openbare bronnen geraadpleegd. Het rapport barst, kortom, van de bewijzen.

Vernederend en wreed

Het beeld dat oprijst is huiveringwekkend. Gevangenen worden langdurig vastgebonden, geblinddoekt en in onmogelijke posities gedwongen. Ze worden uitgehongerd, bewakers urineren op gevangenen of dienen ze elektrische schokken toe, er wordt geslagen en geschopt, gevangenen worden uren of dagenlang blootgesteld aan keiharde muziek, aangevallen door honden of gedwongen zich als dieren te gedragen. Seksueel geweld is wijdverbreid. Onderscheid tussen mannen, vrouwen en kinderen wordt niet gemaakt: alle gevangenen lijden hieronder. Advocaten die in 2024 cliënten in gevangenissen bezochten, verklaarden dat ze er ‘wandelende skeletten’ hadden gezien – de gelinkte reportage wordt ook aangehaald in het rapport.

Zelfs vrijlatingen uit gevangenschap gaan met marteling en vernedering gepaard. Gevangenen worden plotseling vrijgelaten, niet zelden ’s nachts en zomaar ergens op straat, soms met niet meer kleding dan een onderbroek of zelfs een luier. ‘Dit is des te wreder’, schrijft Albanese, ‘wanneer gedetineerden ledematen, hun gezichtsvermogen, spraakvermogen of geestelijke vermogens hebben verloren.’

Dat het geweld zo uit de hand loopt, is een vooropgezet plan. De Israëlische minister Itamar Ben-Gvir van Nationale Veiligheid begon – in zijn woorden – een ‘gevangenisrevolutie’, waarbij Palestijnse gevangenen ‘het minste van het minste’ zouden krijgen. Hij riep het verslechteren van de omstandigheden in de detentiecentra uit tot ‘het hoogste doel’. Sinds oktober 2023 zijn in feite alle gevangenen ofwel terroristen, ofwel een veiligheidsrisico. Verzet in de Israëlische samenleving is er niet of nauwelijks – integendeel: het vernietigen van het Palestijnse volk is al decennia bezig en zo genormaliseerd dat het vaak zelfs wordt gevierd, laat het rapport zien.

Onomkeerbare gevolgen

Het schrikbewind maakt, stelt Albanese, niet alleen het slachtoffer kapot – als dat de martelingen al overleeft. Het heeft ook onomkeerbare gevolgen voor de familie van het slachtoffer, voor hun gemeenschap en uiteindelijk voor het hele Palestijnse volk. Dat, in combinatie met de genocidale daden in Gaza, op de bezette Westoever en in bezet Oost-Jeruzalem, zijn, ontneemt de Palestijnen hun menselijkheid. En (onder andere) daarin ligt het verband met genocide, schrijft Albanese:

De door Israël gepleegde genocidale daden, gericht op het vernietigen van de Palestijnen als groep, zijn ook bedoeld om hen als collectief te laten lijden. Door de fundamentele menselijke status van het slachtoffer aan te tasten, werkt marteling als een extreme vorm van uitsluiting uit de menselijke gemeenschap en tast het het individu diep aan.

Een stevige juridische onderbouwing van de misdaad die deze vormen van marteling zijn, ontbreekt niet in het rapport. Op z’n simpelst gezegd: marteling en vernederende, mensonterende straffen zijn onder alle omstandigheden verboden. Marteling is een schending van het VN-verdrag tegen marteling, een schending van het internationaal humanitair recht, en van het oorlogsrecht als het tijdens een conflict gebeurt. Het Genocideverdrag stelt dat het toebrengen van ernstig lichamelijk of geestelijk letsel een genocidale daad is, als het doel is om een groep geheel of gedeeltelijk te vernietigen.

Die onderbouwing is ook belangrijk omdat de verantwoordelijkheid daarmee niet alleen bij Israël ligt, maar ook bij de internationale gemeenschap. Die heeft de plicht om in te grijpen, en doet dat nu niet – integendeel, Israël wordt nog altijd geen strobreed in de weg gelegd. In haar aanbevelingen schrijft Albanese:

De speciale rapporteur dringt er bij de staten en internationale instellingen op aan alles in het werk te stellen om een einde te maken aan de vernietiging van wat er nog over is van Palestina. Deze verplichting is onmiddellijk en voortdurend. Elke vertraging verergert de onomkeerbare schade en versterkt een systeem van wreedheid dat het internationaal recht en de Verenigde Naties juist moeten voorkomen, stoppen en bestraffen.

EINDE

DE CORRESPONDENT

WAPENSTILSTAND? DE GENOCIDE IN GAZA GAAT

ONVERMINDERD DOOR

https://decorrespondent.nl/16684/wapenstilstand-de-genocide-in-gaza-gaat-onverminderd-door/3a1ff114-2290-0ac8-2ec7-0c5727908480

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· 3:11 am

NOOT 4/DUBBEL

[4]
NOS

Politici veroordelen bekladding Nationaal Monument op de Dam

ZIE VOOR GEHELE TEKST, NOOT 3

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· 3:10 am

NOOT 3/DUBBEL

[3]
NOS

Politici veroordelen bekladding Nationaal Monument op de Dam

Politici veroordelen de bekladding van het Nationaal Monument op de Dam. Afgelopen nacht werd het monument met rode verf besmeurd en het woord ‘genocide’ erop geschreven. Vanavond vindt de Nationale Herdenking plaats op de Dam.

Minister-president Jetten zegt tegen de NOS dat hij de actie “schandalig” en “onbegrijpelijk” vindt. Jetten hoopt dat de daders snel worden opgespoord en bestraft. De minister-president benadrukt dat hij alle Nederlanders zou willen vragen om “ondanks alle meningsverschillen en emoties die we voelen bij de conflicten van nu” vandaag 2 minuten stil te zijn. “Gedenk wie je wilt gedenken, maar heb ook respect voor al die mensen die eerder zijn gevallen.”

Minister van Defensie Yeşilgöz noemt de actie “intens triest” en “totaal respectloos en onacceptabel”. De minister schrijft dat het “onbegrijpelijk” is dat “ons Nationaal Monument op de Dam vernield wordt”. “Juist op de dag dat we onze doden en degenen die vielen voor onze vrijheid herdenken.”

‘Vernielingen horen er niet bij’

Minister van Justitie en Veiligheid Van Weel zegt dat demonstreren een recht is, “maar het bekladden van het Nationaal Monument op de Dam valt daar absoluut niet onder”. Van Weel meldt ook dat de politie onderzoek doet.

Fractievoorzitter van Progressief Nederland Klaver schrijft dat vandaag gaat om herdenken en stilstaan “met elkaar op een waardige manier”. Vernielingen horen daar “absoluut niet bij”, schrijft Klaver op X.

Partijleider van de PVV Wilders noemt de daders “tuig”.

Ook de burgemeester van Amsterdam heeft zich uitgesproken tegen de actie. Burgemeester Halsema noemt het een “ongelofelijk laffe daad”. Ze schrijft: “Dit is geen protest, maar vernielzucht en opzettelijke beschadiging van ons nationale monument. Het kwetst niet alleen nabestaanden van de Tweede Wereldoorlog, maar alle Nederlanders voor wie onze nationale herdenking belangrijk is.”

Volgens Halsema is de gemeente hard aan het werk om het monument schoon te krijgen.

Het Nationaal Monument werd in augustus vorig jaar ook beklad, tijdens een grote pro-Palestijnse demonstratie.

EINDE

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· 3:08 am

NOOT 2/DUBBEL

[2]
NATIONAAL MONUMENT OP DE DAM BEKLAD MET RODE VERF OP DODENHERDENKING
4 MEI 2026
Het Monument op de Dam is in de nacht van zondag op maandag beklad met rode verf. Op beelden is te zien hoe schoonmakers de verf van het monument verwijderen. Maandagavond vindt op de Dam de Nationale Dodenherdenking plaats.

Op het monument werd met rode verf het woord “genocide” geschreven. Het is nog niet duidelijk wie verantwoordelijk is voor de actie. De politie laat aan NU.nl weten momenteel nog informatie te verzamelen.

Het monument werd al vaker beklad. In augustus vorig jaar schreef een demonstrant “Never again is now (Nooit meer is nu, red.)” op het monument. Ook in oktober bekladden demonstranten het monument met rode verf en schreven ze er ‘Fuck Israël’ op. Die laatste actie werd opgeëist door de groepering Palestine Action NL.

De Amsterdamse burgemeester Femke Halsema heeft de bekladding een “ongelooflijk laffe daad” genoemd op haar sociale media. Halsema spreekt van “vernielzucht en opzettelijke beschadiging van ons nationale monument”.

Ook premier Rob Jetten veroordeelt de actie. “Het bekladden van het Nationaal Monument op de Dam is een idiote en volstrekt onacceptabele actie. Al helemaal vandaag, op 4 mei”, schrijft hij op X. “Laten we vandaag eensgezind zijn en samen met respect stilstaan.”

Gedenkplekken WO II vaker te maken met geweld en bedreigingen

Jaarlijks vindt op 4 mei op de Dam in Amsterdam de Nationale Dodenherdenking plaats. Om 20.00 uur is het twee minuten stil voor de slachtoffers van de Tweede Wereldoorlog en ook van oorlogssituaties en vredesoperaties daarna.

Gedenkplekken van de Tweede Wereldoorlog hebben steeds vaker te maken met antisemitisme, geweld en bedreigingen, bericht NU.nl op maandag. Onder meer voormalige concentratiekampen, musea en begraafplaatsen zijn in toenemende mate doelwit van politiek gemotiveerd geweld.

EINDE

VOLKSKRANT

Nationaal Monument besmeurd met rode verf, Palestine Action Amsterdam eist de actie op

Het Nationaal Monument op de Dam in Amsterdam is beklad met rode verf. Op het monument, waar maandagavond de Nationale Dodenherdenking plaatsvindt, is onder meer het woord ‘genocide’ geschreven. De actiegroep Palestine Action Amsterdam heeft de actie opgeëist.

In een e-mail van Palestine Action Amsterdam die in handen is van Het Parool schrijft de groep dat de actie is bedoeld om ‘de hypocrisie’ van de dodenherdenking ‘aan de kaak te stellen’. ‘Later vandaag zullen de koning en de premier bloemen leggen bij het monument, terwijl het bloed van Palestijnen, Libanezen en Iraniërs aan hun handen kleeft.’

Het kabinet heeft boos gereageerd op de bekladding. ‘Het bekladden van het Nationaal Monument op de Dam is een idiote en volstrekt onacceptabele actie. Al helemaal vandaag, op 4 mei’, schreef premier Rob Jetten op sociale media.

Burgemeester Femke Halsema van Amsterdam spreekt van een ‘ongelooflijk laffe daad’. Halsema noemt de bekladding niet alleen kwetsend voor nabestaanden van slachtoffers van de Tweede Wereldoorlog, maar voor ‘alle Nederlanders voor wie onze nationale herdenking belangrijk is’. De gemeente doet aangifte van bekladding.

Bij het monument worden op 4 mei jaarlijks kransen neergelegd voor slachtoffers van de Tweede Wereldoorlog en andere oorlogsslachtoffers. Om 20.00 uur vinden twee minuten stilte plaats. Daarbij zijn onder meer het koningspaar en premier Jetten aanwezig. Het monument is voor de herdenking weer schoongemaakt.

Volgens de politie vond het incident vanochtend iets voor 04.30 uur plaats. Op dit moment zijn er drie verdachten in beeld. Zij vluchtten na de bekladding richting de straat Nes. De drie droegen regenkleding en hadden een witte boodschappentas bij zich. Op een video die door Palestine Action Amsterdam naar Het Parool is gestuurd, is te zien hoe drie figuren het monument bekladden.

De Nederlandse tak van Palestine Action besmeurde vorig jaar ook al het Paleis op de Dam met rode verf, ‘als symbool van het bloed dat aan de handen van de Nederlandse staat kleeft’. Ook het hoofdkantoor van Booking.com in Amsterdam en het auditorium van de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven moesten eraan geloven, omdat zij ‘medeplichtig’ zouden zijn aan de ‘genocide tegen de Palestijnen’.

Het Monument op de Dam is vorig jaar ook al eens beklad met rode verf. In augustus schreef een deelnemer aan een pro-Palestijnse demonstratie de tekst ‘Never Again is Now’ in rode letters op het monument.

EINDE

NOS

Nationaal Monument op de Dam beklad met rode verf op dag van Dodenherdenking

Het Nationaal Monument op de Dam in Amsterdam is beklad met rode verf. Bij het monument vindt vanavond de Nationale Herdenking plaats.

Ook is het woord ‘genocide’ op het monument geschreven, valt te zien op foto’s van stadsomroep AT5

Het is nog niet bekend wie achter de actie zit. De politie doet onderzoek en vraagt getuigen om zich te melden.

Burgemeester Halsema spreekt in een reactie van een “ongelooflijk laffe daad”. “Dit is geen protest, maar vernielzucht en opzettelijke beschadiging”, aldus de burgemeester van Amsterdam. “Het kwetst niet alleen nabestaanden van de Tweede Wereldoorlog maar alle Nederlanders voor wie onze nationale herdenking belangrijk is.”

Ook andere politici veroordelen de bekladdingen. Zo noemt premier Jetten het “een idiote en volstrekt onacceptabele actie”.

Hardnekkig

Volgens burgemeester Halsema werkt de gemeente “met man en macht” om het monument op tijd schoon te krijgen. Het gespecialiseerde schoonmaakbedrijf dat ook het onderhoud doet, had het monument de afgelopen week al schoongemaakt in aanloop naar de plechtigheid van vanavond.

Vanochtend om 04.45 uur werd het bedrijf gebeld over de bekladdingen. De schoonmakers zijn al uren met warm water en borstels in de weer. “Het is vrij hardnekkig. De steensoort is poreus en de rode verf heeft een heel sterk pigment. En het is ook nog eens rood op wit”, zegt een medewerker tegen het NOS Radio 1 Journaal.

Bij het monument worden vanavond kransen gelegd om oorlogsslachtoffers te herdenken. Daarbij zijn ook altijd de koning en koningin aanwezig. Om 20.00 uur is het 2 minuten stil.

Eerder beklad

Bekladdingen met rode verf vinden de afgelopen jaren vaker plaats. Het Nationaal Monument op de Dam werd vorig jaar ook al eens beklad tijdens een grote pro-Palestijnse demonstratie in augustus.

Ook andere bekende gebouwen en monumenten in Amsterdam werden eerder beklad, waaronder het Paleis op de Dam, het Rijksmuseum en andere musea in de stad.

EINDE

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