Ref: 12/2021

Date: 17 February 2021

On Tuesday, 16 February 2021, lawyer Raji Sourani, Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) participated in several meetings with international officials and reviewed the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).  He also briefed them on the reality of the Israeli violations and emphasized the importance of supporting the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) role in protecting human rights in the oPt and supporting the Palestinian  endeavors to hold the general elections in the oPt, including occupied East Jerusalem.

On Tuesday morning, Sourani received two international delegations from Switzerland and Spain at PCHR’s head office in Gaza City.  He met with the Swiss representative to the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Viktor Vavricka, and his deputy Ms. Laetitia Kirianoff Crimmins and attaché Severin Ruoff.  In a later meeting, Sourani met with the Deputy Consul of the Consulate General of Spain, Ms. Sofia Ruiz Del Árbol.

Later that day, Sourani met with political officials from different countries, including Sweden, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Spain, and Germany, as well as a European Union Representative via Zoom.

The three meetings addressed the human rights situation in the oPt, particularly the illegal and inhuman closure imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip for 14 years and its disastrous impact on Palestinian civilians, including the increase in poverty and unemployment rates.

The meetings reviewed the latest developments relevant to the ICC and the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision on the Court’s territorial jurisdiction in the Situation in Palestine, extending the territories occupied by Israel since 1967; and the positive position PCHR and human rights organizations’ took in welcoming the decision that has revived hope among Palestinian victims to receive a long-awaited justice after decades of Israeli occupation authorities’ denial.  In this regard, the meetings addressed the election of lawyer Karim Khan as the new chief prosecutor for ICC, replacing former ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda.

The meetings also tackled the Palestinian elections and PCHR’s welcoming of the presidential decree to hold parliamentary, presidency and National Council elections consecutively.  Sourani stressed that the Palestinian leadership has serious political will to hold the elections, hoping it would pave the way for ending the division, restoring democracy, and building Palestinian institutions.