Experts warn abuses may amount to war crimes, urge international action to end impunity
Beyza Binnur Donmez, AA.com, 30 April 2026
GENEVA
UN experts said Thursday that sexual and gender-based violence is being used as a “systematic tool” of control and oppression against Palestinians under Israeli occupation, warning that the acts may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“Israeli sexual violence has become embedded in Palestinians’ daily lives under occupation,” the experts said in a statement. “It is intersecting, structural and systematic, and operates as a tool of control, subjugation and dispossession.”
The experts said abuses occur in multiple contexts, including detention, checkpoints and house raids, and involve Israeli forces and settlers.
They expressed concern about widespread impunity, saying investigations remain rare and accountability largely absent.
“Political convenience, strategic, military and economic interests are placed above Palestinian lives,” they said, warning that inaction “strikes the very basis of international law.”
Citing previous UN findings, the experts said the violence is used “to terrorise” Palestinians and contribute to forced displacement by creating a coercive environment.
“Sexualised violence is deployed as a method of domination — to instil fear, punish, and fracture communities,” they said.
The experts urged Israel to end the practices and urged the international community to take concrete steps to ensure accountability and end the “climate of impunity extending across both (Israel) state and illegal settlers.”
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