The Role of the United Nations and the International Community in Protecting Palestinian Women and Holding Occupying State Accountable

Introduction

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Women in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) continue to face severe and systematic violations that measure up to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, as defined by international humanitarian and criminal law. These crimes are perpetrated by the Israeli occupying power with unwavering support from the United States, with weak international response and the failure of UN to provide protection or ensure accountability for the perpetrators of such grave offenses.

In Gaza, Palestinian women endure unprecedented and catastrophic conditions due to the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip. This assault includes systematic crimes measuring up to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Women, along with their families, have been forcibly displaced multiple times -more than ten times in some cases- without any access to financial resources or basic personal and humanitarian necessities. Despite this, they continue to bear the responsibility of caring for their families, particularly children.

As a result of the aggression that has persisted since October 7, 2023, more than 45,400 Palestinians have been killed, including 13,320 children and 7,215 women, while over 10,000 others remain missing either trapped under the rubble, their bodies disintegrated, or subjected to enforced disappearance. According to initial estimates by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 107,950 individuals have been injured, with the majority suffering from severe trauma and a critical shortage of medical supplies. Many have undergone surgeries without anesthesia or post-operative antibiotics.

Northern Gaza has been under total siege since October 5, 2024, with no humanitarian aid or medical supplies reaching the area. The Israeli military is carrying out ethnic cleansing affecting the entire population of the region. Meanwhile, all residents of Gaza suffer from food insecurity and a lack of access to safe drinking water[1]. According to Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), two million people across Gaza are facing severe hunger[2].

Palestinian women in Gaza endure daily suffering. Their harsh daily struggle begins with caring for children and the elderly, searching for humanitarian aid, and scavenging for firewood to cook, heat their shelters, and wash clothes in an environment where energy sources have been completely depleted. For them, accessing healthcare if available is a perilous endeavor, leading to a rise in preterm births and an increase in maternal mortality rates[3].

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative in Palestine, Nestor Omohangi, warned that more than 17,000 pregnant women are on the brink of starvation, while 11,000 others are already living in famine-like conditions. He added that malnutrition has severely affected three-quarters of new mothers, hindering their ability to breastfeed, at a time when infant formula is unavailable. In a press briefing on October 10, 2024, Omohangi explained that overcrowded shelters and the lack of hygiene supplies have exacerbated the suffering of women in Gaza. Approximately 700,000 women and girls lack access to menstrual hygiene products. Additionally, around 49,000 women are currently pregnant, with 4,000 expected to give birth soon, in an environment where the lack of prenatal and postnatal care has significantly increased the risk of miscarriage and maternal mortality[4].

In a testimony to journalists, UN Women Representative in Palestine, Maryse Guimond, spoke about her recent visit to Gaza: "I visited Gaza more than 50 times, many times during previous escalations, including the war of 2021, but this time nothing prepared me for the total destruction and inhumanity I saw. What I witnessed defied my worst fears for the women and girls I have been working with for many years”[5].

Meanwhile, UN experts have repeatedly warned—both collectively and individually—about Israel’s crimes in Gaza and its continued impunity. Most recently, on December 11, 2024, four UN independent human rights experts called on the international community to impose sanctions on Israel in response to its aggression against the oPt. They emphasized the need to restore confidence in the international justice system by rejecting "double standards and extreme interpretations" in applying the standards that control wars.

During a press conference, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine, called for a halt to direct arms transfers to Israel and a review of Israel's UN credentials to demonstrate that impunity will not be tolerated.[6]

Palestinian women in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, have not been spared from severe violations of their rights. The Israeli occupation puts Palestinian women under two crimes against humanity - apartheid and persecution, as documented by Human Rights Watch[7]. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed the crime of apartheid in its advisory opinion, while the International Criminal Court (ICC) acknowledged this in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. These crimes are further compounded by Israel’s collective punishment policies against Palestinians, which place Palestinian women at even greater risk and vulnerability. These violations include home demolitions, land confiscation for settlement expansion or military claims, land razing, restrictions on freedom of movement, and the deployment of approximately 600 permanent checkpoints across the West Bank[8].

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers—under military protection—have escalated their attacks on Palestinian civilians. During 2024 alone, 15 women and 5 girls were killed, while 000 others sustained various injuries. Settler attacks on Palestinian communities resulted in the complete displacement of seven communities and the partial displacement of 20 others. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2024 has recorded the highest rate of Palestinian displacement in nearly two decades. Israeli forces, often facilitating settler violence, forcibly displaced approximately 4,250 Palestinians, demolished 1,760 buildings, and settlers carried out 1,400 attacks across the West Bank, including in Jerusalem[9].
Rural Palestinian women have also been profoundly affected by these systematic violations. Since early 2024, settlers have destroyed approximately 26,100 fruit-bearing trees across the West Bank, in addition to attacks targeting Palestinian homes and agricultural lands[10].

In Jerusalem, home demolitions have intensified, with Palestinian families either forcibly evicted or compelled to demolish their own homes. According to OCHA, since the beginning of 2024, Israeli authorities forced 65% of the homeowners whose properties were under demolition orders to destroy their homes at their own expense (140 out of 215 buildings). This marks a sharp increase compared to the 42% self-demolition rate recorded over the previous five years[11].
Amid death, suffering, oppression, despair, and accumulating humanitarian catastrophes, the United Nations—particularly the Security Council—and the international community have failed Palestinian women. They have neither ensured the protection of their inherent human rights and dignity nor held Israel accountable for its documented crimes since the beginning of the aggression.

This paper aims to highlight the binding obligations of the UN and the international community in protecting Palestinian women during Israel’s military assault on Gaza and in ensuring Israel’s accountability for these internationally documented crimes according to international conventions and its real role while there is the double standards and the politicization of international law.
Accordingly, the paper is structured into an introduction and four main sections. The first section explores the foundations of protection and accountability in international law concerning crimes committed against Palestinian women. The second examines the UN’s actual role in protecting Palestinian women and ensuring Israel’s accountability. The third section discusses the international community’s role in protecting Palestinian women and holding Israel accountable. The fourth assesses the UN and the international community’s compliance with UN Security Council Resolution (1325) in the context of Palestinian women’s realities. The paper concludes with key findings and recommendations.