Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Release Salah Hammouri From Unjust Administrative Detention
Responding to the news that the Israeli authorities have extended human rights defender Salah Hammouri’s administrative detention for another three months, Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:
June 6, 2022
Press Release
Scrap Plans for Forced Transfer of Palestinian Bedouin Village Ras Jrabah in the Negev/Naqab
Israeli authorities must scrap plans to demolish a Palestinian Bedouin village and forcibly transfer its residents to a segregated Bedouin-only town, Amnesty International said today. On May 22 and 23 the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court will hear an appeal submitted by 127 residents of the Negev/Naqab village Ras Jrabah who are at imminent risk of forced eviction and displacement, in the latest example of strategies used to maintain the system of apartheid. They are represented by lawyers from the human rights group Adalah, who argue that the planned demolitions also perpetuate Israel’s policies of racial segregation.
May 23, 2022
Press Release
Increase in Unlawful Killings and Other Crimes Highlights Urgent Need to End Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians
Israeli authorities must end unlawful killings, willful injury, arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, persecution and collective punishment against Palestinians, including many children, Amnesty International said in a public statement published today.
May 11, 2022
Press Release
Israel is Committing Apartheid, Says UN Special Rapporteur
The Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Michael Lynk, has submitted a report to the Human Rights Council, concluding that the situation in the OPT amounts to apartheid.
March 23, 2022
Press Release
Congress Must Use Power to Advance Human Rights for All in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
In response to the members of Congress who expressed concern with our recent report on Israeli authorities’ ongoing human rights abuses against Palestinians, including the finding that the Israeli government is committing apartheid, Amnesty International USA said: Amnesty International is committed to researching and documenting human rights abuses wherever they occur. We have issued reports on crimes against humanity committed by authorities in countries around the world, from China to Sudan to Saudi Arabia. In 2017, Amnesty International released conclusive evidence that authorities in Myanmar are committing apartheid against the Rohingya. Our sole mandate is to document and expose human…
February 2, 2022
Press Release
Biden Administration Must Uphold Human Rights for Palestinians in Israel and in the OPT
In response to yesterday and today’s comments from U.S. State Department officials on U.S. relations with Israeli and Palestinian authorities, Paul O’Brien, Executive Director at Amnesty International USA said: “Amnesty International USA appreciates the State Department’s attention to our report in yesterday’s press briefing, as well as continued committments from Secretary Blinken towards improving ‘quality of life for the Palestinian people in tangible ways’ and reiterating that ‘Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity’ as Israelis. We agree. We hope the Biden administration shares our desire to have meaningful conversations about our research and,…
February 1, 2022
Report
New Report Finds Israeli Authorities Are Committing Crime Against Humanity of Apartheid Against Palestinians in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The Israeli government is committing the crime against humanity of apartheid against Palestinians and must be held accountable, Amnesty International said today in a new report. The research details how the Israeli government enforces a system of oppression and domination against the Palestinian people wherever it has control over their rights. Crucially, this report finds that an apartheid system extends not only to Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), but also throughout Israel and to displaced refugees in other countries.
February 1, 2022
Press Release
United States Must Halt Arms Sale to Israel and Commit to Ending Violations in Gaza
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) supports joint resolutions in the House and Senate, introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, to block the United States’ pending $735 million weapons sale to Israel. Israeli forces have carried out airstrikes in Gaza targeting residential buildings and family homes, in some cases killing entire families. These attacks may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity and must be investigated. By planning to supply hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel, the United States government stands to help carry out war crimes and kill or injure more people with…
May 21, 2021
Press Release
UN Human Rights Council Special Session Must Address Violations in Israel/OPT
Welcoming the news that the UN Human Rights Council has today announced it will hold a special session to address the rapidly deteriorating situation across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) on May 27, Amnesty International’s representative to the UN in Geneva, Kevin Whelan said: “Within a matter of weeks, the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories has escalated from a crackdown by Israeli forces against peaceful Palestinian demonstrators in East Jerusalem to a full-scale armed conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.
May 20, 2021
Press Release
Biden Administration’s Approval of Weapons Sale to Israel Will Put Civilians at Greater Risk
Responding to reports that the Biden Administration has approved a $735 million sale in weapons to Israel, Philippe Nassif, the advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA, said: “President Biden’s approval of a $735 million offensive arms sale to Israel in the midst of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law perpetrated by Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups directly undermines his commitment to upholding human rights around the world. By supplying weapons that could be used to commit war crimes, the U.S. government is taking the risk of further fueling attacks against…
May 17, 2021
Press Release
Pattern of Israeli Attacks on Residential Homes in Gaza Must Be Investigated As War Crimes
Israeli forces have displayed a shocking disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians by carrying out a number of airstrikes targeting residential buildings in some cases killing entire families - including children - and causing wanton destruction to civilian property, in attacks that may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity, said Amnesty International today.
May 17, 2021
Press Release
Israel/ OPT: Cycle of impunity leaves civilians once again paying the price amid escalation of hostilities
Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza must not repeat violations of international humanitarian law that led to killing and maiming of civilians and destruction of homes and infrastructure in previous rounds of fighting, said Amnesty International today.
May 12, 2021