We, the lawyers and jurists of Asia and the Pacific, organized under the Confederation of Lawyers in Asia and the Pacific or COLAP, call for an immediate stop to the genocidal war of Israel in Gaza and Lebanon.

With the use of superior armed force, supplied by the United States, Israel has embarked on a genocidal war in Gaza, laying siege, bombing civilians in hospitals, shelters, schools and evacuation shelters. More than 42,600 people, mostly women and children, have died since the Israeli occupation of Gaza a year ago, and at least 99,800 were injured. Israeli forces have blocked the entry of food, water and medicine and the civilians are trapped.

Besides outright attacks on refugee camps, Israel has also vilified the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which provides humanitarian aid to Palestinians and others in the region to ensure the complete dehumanization and annihilation of the Palestinian people.

The same genocidal attack is also happening in Lebanon where civilian targets and infrastructure have been attacked by Israeli invaders. UN peace-keeping forces, hospitals and schools have also been targeted by Israeli forces.

As democratic lawyers in the region, COLAP denounce these blatant violations of international humanitarian laws and the Rome Statute. Israel, and its leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu, has committed and must be taken to account over war crimes. The United States as the foremost enabler of Israel’s genocidal war, must also be held accountable. It must not be allowed to block the efforts of peace-loving forces of the world, nor to abuse its veto power in the United Nations.

We support the landmark ruling of the International Court of Justice declaring that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful, along with the associated settlement regime, annexation and use of natural resources. The Court added that Israel’s legislation and measures violate the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. We support the ongoing investigation of the International Criminal Court into various crimes, in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, since June 13, 2014. We call for the implementation of ruling and orders by these international tribunals, and specifically the enforcement of warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

We call on the lawyers and jurists in Asia and the Pacific to act now and join hands with the global resistance against imperialism. We fight as one to demand: Stop the Israeli genocide now!

We shout in one voice: End the illegal occupation of Gaza, and the whole of Palestine!

Stop the Genocide!
End the Occupation!
Free Palestine!