Hearings – Independent International Commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel

On the 11th of March 2025, the Independent International Commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian territory took place, in order to address the sexual violence endured by the Palestinian people have been going through since the 7th of October and before. Created in 2021, the Commission of Inquiry aims to investigate all violations of human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. This session was the first of the 4 hearings that will be held these following days to gather testimony from victims of gender-based violence committed by the Israeli Security Forces and Israeli settlers. C. Sidoti, who chaired the conference, invited several people – experts and witnesses – to testify in front of the camera what they have witnessed or what they have experienced as victims.

11th March – Morning Session

“At first I thought I was a survivor, but am I really a survivor?”. These were the words of the first victim who testified. While he was working in Al Shifah Hospital, he was kidnapped by the Israeli forces and transferred to the Naqba prison, where he experienced torture. From being forced to stay three days outside in the cold without any clothes to his genitals being deliberately targeted when beaten up, he reveals a major point: the violence perpetrated by Israeli soldiers is used as a political weapon. Sexual violence in this context is not just about physical harm, but about power, humiliation, and the destruction of dignity. It serves as a way of dehumanizing victims, and to this extent, degrades the Palestinian people as a whole.

His testimony was followed by the intervention of two women working on documenting the sexual violence led by the Israeli forces in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. Their intervention highlighted two main ideas. Firstly, while gathering numerous testimonies from women in those three regions, they explained how there is a different use of sexual violence. In Gaza and the West Bank, women are treated differently (still badly) from Jerusalem, concluding that there must have been a directive given to treat women in such a manner. Here again, sexual violence is used as a weapon to attack a whole community, here the Palestinians. They also highlighted this difficult dilemmas that lots of girls who have to pass Israeli checkpoints face: either remaining silent about the violence they are the victims of when crossing them and be able to continue study, or raise their voices with the risk of being sent away by their family in the rural areas to be protected, but receiving no education.

12th March – Morning Session – C. Sidoti chairs the conference

During the Session, a French doctor working with several organizations, including Doctors without Borders, testified about the indirect violence women suffer from in Gaza. Having visited Gaza before October 7th, he was able to compare the medical situation before and after the war. He stated that the difference between the two periods is striking: before October 7th, 32 hospitals were operating in the territory, providing adequate conditions of healthcare for Gazans. However, the events that followed led to their destruction or malfunction, resulting in a drastic decline in health conditions. He pointed out that in Gaza, the increase in mortality is blatantly linked not only to shooting, but also one to indirect causes. For example, a pregnant woman with diabetes died due to lack of medical supplies. The situation has led to the inability to help people in critical conditions, ultimately resulting in preventable deaths.

Watch the full session
UN Web TV – 11 March 2025 Hearing