The State of Palestine has condemned what it describes as the systematic use of enforced disappearance against thousands of Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip, warning that the practice amounts to a serious violation of international law.
Speaking on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Ambassador Tamer Almassri said the fate and whereabouts of many Palestinians detained by Israeli occupation authorities during the ongoing war remained unknown.
Ambassador Almassri said the withholding of information about detainees, including their names, locations and medical conditions, coupled with the denial of access to families, lawyers and human rights organisations, represented more than isolated violations.
He said the practices constituted an integrated policy that stripped detainees of legal protection and created conditions in which torture, ill-treatment and medical neglect could occur away from scrutiny and accountability.
“The fate and whereabouts of many of these individuals remain entirely unknown,” Ambassador Almassri said, stressing the urgency of establishing their whereabouts and ensuring their rights under international law.
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The State of Palestine maintained that enforced disappearance is prohibited under international law under all circumstances, including during armed conflict or a state of emergency.
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance defines the practice as the deprivation of liberty followed by a refusal to acknowledge the detention or the concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the person, placing them outside the protection of the law.
Ambassador Almassri said ending enforced disappearances and establishing the fate of Palestinian detainees was not merely a humanitarian appeal but a test of the international community’s commitment to international law and accountability.
His remarks come amid the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the Palestinian death toll has reportedly risen to 73,454, with 174,486 people injured since October 2023. More than 12,000 people are also reported to remain trapped beneath rubble or along roads, amid continued difficulties faced by ambulance and rescue teams.
Ambassador Almassri further accused Israeli politicians of exploiting military escalation and Palestinian deaths for domestic electoral gains.
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