In Israel, lawyers and activists denounce the silence of international organizations that advocate for women’s rights over allegations of rape committed by Hamas militants during their October 7 attack.
In addition to what Israel says was the killing of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in that attack, Israeli police are investigating possible sexual violence, including gang rape or body mutilation.
Investigators have so far collected “more than 1,500 shocking and disturbing witness statements,” a police official told the Israeli parliament this week.
Immediately after the attack, Israeli lawyers provided information to organizations including UN agencies, particularly UN Women and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw).
But the answers were poor or late, they say.
In response to an interview by AFP on Friday, UN Women said it was “aware of the concerns” and had met with Israeli women’s organizations to “listen to their terrible stories about what happened on October 7” and “assist them as best as possible.” to help reveal gender.” -based atrocities, including sexual violence.”
“No woman should feel neglected or abandoned by UN Women,” asserts the organization, which released a statement the same day saying it was “concerned by the numerous testimonies of sexist and sexual violence during the attack.” by Hamas and called for “investigation and action.” Prosecutions”.
But for lawyer Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, former head of Cedaw, “this press release should have been published two months ago”.
Israeli women’s activists criticize UN Women and Cedaw for their general reflections so far on the impact of the conflict on women and girls in Israel and the Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip – where Israeli bombings have killed more than 15,000 people, according to the Hamas government.
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But none of these organizations “mentioned that (on October 7) sexual violence against women was systematic, deliberate and premeditated, which (…) amounted to the use of rape as a weapon of war,” Ruth Halperin-Kaddari confirmed to AFP.
At a recent parliamentary hearing, senior police officer Shelly Harush provided horrific details of the October 7 atrocities. She cited “girls stripped naked above and below the waist” and reported witness accounts of the gang rape, mutilation and murder of a young woman.
She quoted another witness who reported gunshot wounds to the “genitals, abdomen, legs and buttocks (…), breasts cut open or with gunshot wounds” while rescuers examined the body of a woman bleeding from the genitals. .
“No Israeli should be left alone in this terrible moment,” one of the European Parliament’s vice-presidents, Pina Picierno, told Israeli MPs via video.
“All international organizations and women’s organizations should condemn Hamas and defend the victims,” she added, condemning those who “act as if they don’t see for political reasons.”
The issue is sparking growing anger in Israel. A drawing from the daily Yediot Aharonot shows an Israeli woman in torn and bloody clothing saying “Me too” to three UN women, with one covering her ears, another covering her mouth and the third covering her eyes.
For Einat Fisher Lalo of the Israel Women’s Network, the feminist slogan “Me Too” has changed to “Yes, but” towards Israeli women.
“Yes, we are against rape, but not against all women. Yes, we are against sexual abuse, but it depends on your nationality. Yes, we believe you, but if you are Israeli victims of terrorists, then you provide the proof,” she laments.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “the countless reports of sexual violence during Hamas’ heinous terrorist attacks on October 7 must be investigated and prosecuted.”
“Too little, too late,” says Yael Sherer, an internationally renowned forensic expert who has studied sexual crimes.
“It’s a shame,” because it is her first reaction on the issue and it comes after “immense public pressure,” she assures AFP.
Ms. Halperin-Kaddari attributes this international reservation primarily to preconceptions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including “the difficulty of putting aside the stereotypical vision of Israel as the aggressor and the Palestinians as victims.”
“In this case the situation has been reversed,” she points out, and some “find it difficult to see so much evil in those they have always preferred to see as victims.”