Amnesty International today (Monday) called on Israel to end its brutal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, stressing during public hearings in The Hague that the Israeli military occupation is the deadliest in the world.

Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said, “The world must realize that ending the illegal Israeli occupation is a precondition for stopping repeated human rights violations in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories,” adding, “The Israeli occupation of Palestine is the longest military occupation, and one of the longest.” Military occupations are the deadliest in the world, and for decades this occupation has been characterized by systematic and widespread violations of the rights of Palestinians. This occupation has also enabled and entrenched the Israeli apartheid system imposed on the Palestinians.

She noted that over the years, the Israeli military occupation has evolved into a permanent occupation in flagrant violation of international law, noting that the current raging conflict in the occupied Gaza Strip, which the International Court of Justice has ruled exists a real and imminent risk of genocide, has brought into sharp focus On the disastrous consequences of allowing Israel's international crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories to continue with impunity for so long.

Callamard stressed that the Israeli occupation did not comply with the basic principles of international humanitarian law, as the long-term Israeli occupation, extending for more than half a century, was coupled with the authorities’ illegal official annexation of occupied East Jerusalem and the actual annexation of vast areas of the West Bank through land confiscation. And the expansion of settlements are all factors that clearly indicate that Israel’s intention is for the occupation to be permanent and for the benefit of the occupying authority and its citizens, indicating that the Gaza Strip remains occupied even after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from it and the evacuation of settlers in 2005, as Israel maintains effective control over the Strip and its residents, including This is through its control over its borders, territorial waters, airspace, and the population registry of its citizens.

The Secretary General of Amnesty International called on all countries to review their relations with Israel to ensure that they do not contribute to the perpetuation of the occupation or the “apartheid” system.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that 26 EU countries are calling for an immediate humanitarian truce leading to a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.