Rights groups urge global action against Israeli occupation, atrocities

On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, local and international organizations have called on the world community to step up its efforts to end Israeli apartheid and allow Palestinians to return back to their ancient homes.

In a statement marking the occasion, the Palestinian Return Center (PRC) said that the annual commemoration comes amid alarming heightened Israeli aggression against Palestinians.

The center said, “Escalating Israeli crimes include mass collective punishment, mass demolitions, ethnic cleansing, settler attacks, and ongoing campaigns to criminalize any form of solidarity with Palestine must come to an end.”

It added that this year’s observance is a reminder of the fact that Palestinians are treated as second-class citizens and are deprived of their basic rights, highlighting the right to return of all Palestinian refugees in exile across the world.

Meanwhile, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association said 96 local, regional and international organizations supporting Palestinian political prisoners are calling for an end to the Israeli apartheid’s arbitrary policies and rapid use of the policy of detention without charge or trial.

198 organizations call on ICC to investigate Israeli crimes against Palestinians

98 Palestinian and international organizations call on the International Criminal Court to investigate Israeli crimes and for public condemnation.

In turn, Hamas, the Palestinian resistance movement, said Palestinians are standing steadfast in face of Israeli occupation and violence, and the free people of the world’s support for and solidarity with Palestine is on the rise.

“There is no legitimacy or sovereignty for the Israeli occupation over occupied Palestine, and liberating it is a responsibility that falls not only on the Palestinian people, but also on the Arab and Islamic Ummah and the free people of the world,” the statement read.

Hamas said, “The world has demonstrated solidarity with Palestinians this year at Qatar 2022 World Cup and emphasized their rejection to any form of normalization with the Israeli regime.”

Intl. NGOs: End Israeli apartheid

Meanwhile, several non-Palestinian organizations also expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people on the occasion, which they described as an opportunity to reiterate support for the people of Palestine in their struggle for freedom and dignity.

For its part, the BDS movement said on the 44th anniversary of this day that “Israel controls every facet of Palestinian life through a brutally oppressive regime of settler-colonialism and apartheid which exercises a single system of domination over all Indigenous Palestinians.”

The movement called on the UN to take action against apartheid Israel.

Five former EU foreign ministers describe Israel as 'apartheid' regime, slam intl. community's inaction in face of aggression

We must acknowledge that Israel

At a Palestinian solidarity event on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the “occupation must end,” amid growing international alarm over a spike in violence in the West Bank.

Guterres, while reassuring his commitment to a “two-state solution,” said the “drivers of the conflict” were occupation, settlements, home demolitions, evictions and closures of Gaza crossings” by Israel.

The European Union also called for a comprehensive resolution of the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict on the same grounds, reiterating that settlements are illegal under international law.

Also from Europe, the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 said, “Showing solidarity with Palestinians means acting to pressure our governments into withdrawing their shameful support for Israel’s vicious occupation and apartheid policies.”

According to recent reports, 2022 has been the deadliest for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2016.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the Israeli occupying forces have killed over 200 Palestinians so far, including children and women.

The majority of Palestinians were shot by Israeli forces or armed settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Also, in August 2022, Israel launched yet another aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, during which 49 Palestinians, including 17 children, were killed, and another 335 were injured.

In 1977, the UN General Assembly called for the annual observance of November 29 as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Analysts believe resistance is the only way to put an end to Israel’s impunity and hold this regime accountable for all its violations and aggression in the occupied lands.

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