UN action and sanctions to protect Palestinians and end impunity

Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) urges the UN and its Member States to implement the recommendations of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, in report A/81/430 of 14 October 2026. Further expressions of concern cannot protect Palestinians. Action must stop the crimes and end the unlawful occupation and the support sustaining it.

The Commission finds that Israeli military operations and sustained settler violence form part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians in the West Bank. It concludes that Israeli authorities and forces have committed crimes against humanity, including extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and persecution. It also affirms that Israeli authorities and security forces continue to commit genocide in Gaza. The report links this violence to the seizure of Palestinian land, displacement, and denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

As a Palestinian feminist organization, we are deeply concerned by the findings on sexual, reproductive, and gender-based violence. The Commission describes sexual violence used to humiliate, punish, displace, and subjugate Palestinians, with almost complete impunity. Survivors must be able to speak and seek justice safely, with their dignity, privacy, and choices respected. These findings require immediate action. We call on the UN and its Member States to take the following steps:

1. Binding Security Council action under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Adopt a binding resolution requiring Israel to stop its crimes and comply with international law, backed by Article 41 sanctions: a comprehensive arms embargo; suspended military and security cooperation; economic, financial, and diplomatic sanctions; and asset freezes and travel bans for those responsible. Monitor implementation and prevent evasion while safeguarding civilians and humanitarian assistance.
2. An end to genocide and protection for Palestinians. Stop the genocide in Gaza and Israeli attacks and violations across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; end forcible displacement and settler violence; ensure unhindered humanitarian access; and protect health facilities, humanitarian workers, journalists, and human rights defenders.
3. Compliance with international law and ICJ orders. Require Israel to comply with the Geneva Conventions, the Genocide Convention, and human rights treaties, including the conventions on children’s rights and eliminating discrimination against women. Require full implementation of the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures of January, March, and May 2024, and State action to end Israel’s unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, consistent with its July 2024 advisory opinion.
4. An end to support for occupation and settlements. Stop political, military, and economic support sustaining the unlawful occupation and settlements; prohibit settlement-linked trade and investment; and hold businesses accountable for involvement in violations. Security Council inaction does not release States from their obligations to prevent genocide and refrain from assisting an unlawful situation.
5. Accountability for those responsible. Support the International Criminal Court’s independence and work, execute its arrest warrants, and oppose sanctions and pressure against it and its officials. Investigate and prosecute international crimes in domestic courts, including through universal jurisdiction where legally permitted. Hold those ordering, enabling, and committing crimes accountable.
6. Protection and justice for women and survivors. Ensure women and girls can safely access healthcare, including sexual and reproductive services, psychosocial support, and legal assistance. Provide survivors and affected families with reparations, including compensation, rehabilitation, restitution, and guarantees of non-repetition. Ensure Palestinian women and women’s organizations meaningfully shape decisions on protection, accountability, recovery, and reconstruction.
7. Public UN follow-up with deadlines. Establish specific actions, deadlines, and regular public reporting on implementation. Require access for the Commission and relevant UN mechanisms to the occupied Palestinian territory, protect witnesses and survivors, and preserve evidence.

We also call on the Palestinian authorities to implement the recommendations addressed to them: conduct independent investigations, ensure accountability and remedies, stop targeting journalists and human rights defenders, including women, and protect public freedoms and women’s equal participation in political and public life.

The UN and its Member States must use their powers to stop the crimes, impose sanctions, and end the political protection enabling Israeli impunity. Palestinian women are entitled to safety, dignity, freedom, and equality; the Palestinian people to self-determination and a future free from occupation, displacement, and violence. International action must give effect to these rights.

Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development

27 October 2026