RAMALLAH, July 22, 2025 (WAFA) – Palestinian professional unions and popular federations issued an urgent appeal Tuesday to professional unions worldwide and international organizations to put an end to the systematic starvation policy imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities against the people of Gaza.
The announcement was made during a press conference hosted by the Palestinian Bar Association at its headquarters in Ramallah, with participation from heads and secretaries-general of various unions including the Bar Association, Journalists’ Syndicate, Engineers’ Syndicate, Medical Association, Teachers’ Union, Agricultural Engineers, Women’s Union, Veterinary Syndicate, and other union and human rights figures.
Speakers emphasized that the occupation uses starvation as a weapon of war and genocide against civilians, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and human rights principles.
At the conference, a joint appeal was launched to mobilize a global union and popular stance to halt this ongoing crime, urging international human rights and humanitarian institutions to fulfill their legal and moral responsibilities.
Fadi Abbas, head of the Palestinian Bar Association, stressed that this unified call reflects the critical role of the international union movement in upholding professional, legal, and ethical responsibilities worldwide, to immediately stop this deadly policy, end the injustice against the Palestinian people, and guarantee their right to live freely and with dignity.
The appeal stated: “More than two million people in Gaza are subjected to a suffocating siege and a systematic crime in which starvation is used as a weapon of war, flagrantly violating the provisions of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”
It added: “The policy of starvation is classified as a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute, and a crime against humanity under Article 7 of the same statute. It also qualifies as a ‘grave breach’ under Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, based on the phrase ‘wilfully causing great suffering’ contained therein, despite not being explicitly mentioned.”
The appeal continued: “Death by starvation in Gaza has become a daily reality, recorded in official death certificates and documented by reports from humanitarian and international human rights organizations. Children die clutching their hungry dreams, while famine ravages the sick and vulnerable amid deliberate prevention of food, medicine, and water entry, alongside systematic targeting of infrastructure and essential services, including hospitals, power plants, and water facilities.”
The statement declared: “We are facing s fully constituted crime committed by the Israeli occupation authorities, using starvation as a slow method of genocide, placing it under the jurisdiction of international courts and obligating the international community—especially professional unions worldwide—to assume their moral and legal responsibilities to stop this tragedy.”
It added: “Believing that professional unions are not merely occupations but a mission to defend truth, justice, and human dignity, we urgently call on you to issue clear and explicit positions condemning the policy of collective starvation in Gaza as a war crime and crime against humanity.”
The appeal also called for immediate action through international frameworks to activate accountability mechanisms and support legal efforts to prosecute those responsible for these crimes before international courts or national courts applying the principle of universal jurisdiction.
It urged coordination with Palestinian unions to form a unified legal front defending Palestinian rights, exposing violations to global public opinion, and supporting human rights and relief efforts by organizing solidarity campaigns and providing knowledge and logistical support to legal aid centers and human rights institutions working in Gaza.
The appeal emphasized: “The silence of professionals in the face of this crime cannot be justified and may be understood as implicit acceptance, contradicting our shared professional oath and mission to defend justice. We believe that if your voices rise united, they can have a tangible impact on international justice and help stop this humanitarian disaster unfolding before the eyes of the world. Let us stand together in defense of the oppressed... prosecute those responsible for starvation as war criminals... and be partners in building a world where human dignity is preserved and rights respected.”
T.R.
