Staff Writer
The State of Palestine has condemned what it describes as the systematic use of enforced disappearance against Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip, accusing Israeli occupation authorities of withholding information about thousands of people detained during the ongoing war.
In a statement marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Palestinian Ambassador in Zimbabwe, Tamer Almassri said the fate and whereabouts of many detainees remain unknown.
Almassri said authorities’ alleged refusal to disclose detainees’ names, locations and medical conditions, coupled with restrictions on access by families, lawyers and human rights organisations, amounted to more than isolated violations.
According to the ambassador, the practices constitute an integrated policy that removes detainees from legal protection and creates conditions in which torture, ill-treatment and medical neglect can occur without adequate oversight or accountability.
“Enforced disappearance is absolutely prohibited under international law and cannot be justified under any circumstances, including during war or a state of emergency,” Almassri said.
He referred to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which defines enforced disappearance as the deprivation of liberty followed by a refusal to acknowledge the detention or concealment of the person’s fate or whereabouts, placing the victim outside the protection of the law.
Almassri said determining the fate of detainees and ending enforced disappearances should not be treated as a humanitarian issue that can be postponed.
He described the issue as a test of the international community’s commitment to international law and efforts to halt what Palestine describes as an ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The statement also highlighted the scale of casualties in Gaza. According to figures cited by the State of Palestine, 73,454 Palestinians have been killed and 174,486 injured since October 2023, while more than 12,000 people are believed to remain trapped beneath rubble and along roads.
The Palestinian statement said ambulance and rescue teams continue to face difficulties reaching those trapped amid ongoing Israeli bombardment, despite the existence of a reported ceasefire.
Almassri also accused Israeli politicians of exploiting military escalation and Palestinian casualties for domestic electoral gains ahead of upcoming elections.
The allegations come amid continuing international scrutiny of the conduct of the war, the treatment of Palestinian detainees and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.