In the eyes of Israel’s First Lady Michal Herzog, the UN declaring Hamas to be on the official black list of entities that commit sexual crimes in conflict was “a long time coming.”
By Rachel Avraham
As the United Nations held a special session on Tuesday on the use of sexual violence in conflict, First Lady of Israel Michal Herzog welcomed the United Nations’ decision to add the terrorist organization Hamas to the official “black list” of entities that commit sexual crimes in violent conflicts — a move she described as “a long time coming,” Arutz Sheva reported.
Herzog, who has been a leading voice in raising awareness of Hamas’s sexual violence since October 7, says the evidence has been clear for months, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, she points to an early 2024 report by the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, that documented Hamas’s deliberate and systematic crimes.
“The world must understand: Hamas uses rape as a weapon,” Herzog says. “These atrocities — rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, sexual abuse in captivity — are not incidental. They are deliberate, premeditated and systematic tools of terror. If the international community fails to condemn them, in both action and words, we risk seeing more such crimes repeated in other conflicts across the globe.”
According to the annual Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, both state and non-state actors were responsible for violations in 21 countries, with the highest numbers recorded in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan. The report lists 63 state and non-state actors credibly suspected of or being responsible for patterns of sexual violence in armed conflicts on the Security Council’s agenda. Aside from Hamas, other non-state actors on the list include ISIS, Al Shabab, and Boko Haram.
According to the UN Security Council report, “In March 2024, the mission led by my Special Representative found clear and convincing information that some hostages taken to Gaza were subjected to various forms of conflict-related sexual violence during their time in captivity. My Special Representative also found reasonable grounds to believe that sexual violence occurred during the attacks of 7 October 2023 in multiple locations, including rape and gang rape. Several fully naked or partially naked bodies from the waist down were recovered – mostly women – with hands tied, who had been shot multiple times, often in the head. Although circumstantial, such a pattern of undressing and restraining of victims may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence.”
“These findings were corroborated by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which also found reasonable grounds to conclude that sexual violence was committed on 7 October at the Nova festival, on Road 232, at the Nahal Oz military outpost and at kibbutzim Re’im, Nir Oz and Kfar Aza,” the UN Security Council report declared. “The Commission of Inquiry also received credible information about some hostages being subjected to sexual and gender-based violence, including sexualized torture, while in captivity. Both my Special Representative and the Commission of Inquiry found that the 7 October attacks were led and coordinated by Hamas, joined by other Palestinian armed groups, including the military arms of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, as well as civilians from Gaza.”
According to the UN Security Council report, “My Special Representative concluded that the complexity and modus operandi of the attacks demonstrated a significant level of planning, coordination and detailed prior knowledge of the targets selected. In May 2024, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court submitted applications for warrants for the arrest of three political and military commanders of Hamas, citing reasonable grounds to believe that they bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine from at least 7 October 2023. These proceedings were halted by the Court following confirmation of their deaths.”
Photo from Igal Slavin (יגאל סלבין): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michal_Herzog#/media/File:Michal_Herzog_by_Igal_Slavin.jpeg
