Palestinians in general have faced numerous violations for decades, which have intensified and intensified since October 7 of last year, perhaps summarized by cold-blooded murder, land confiscation, domination over all forms of natural resources, market domination, displacement, humiliation, arbitrary detention and other forms of arrests without a minimum of fair trial and in extremely harsh detention conditions. natural resources and market dominance, displacement, humiliation, arbitrary arrests and other forms of detention without minimum fair trials and in extremely difficult and dehumanizing detention conditions, displacement, injuries, and more.

The Zionist military machine targets all Palestinians without exception, either killing them or causing permanent disabilities. Hospitals, shelters, tents where displaced people live, places of worship, residential buildings, educational institutions, historical sites, and anything that promises a chance for a semblance of life. Last month, the Rehabilitation Sector for Persons with Disabilities in the Palestinian NGO Network announced that the war has left about 10,000 people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip.

People with disabilities, including children and women, are undoubtedly the furthest and least noticed by humanitarian and medical operations managers.

Voices from Gaza speak for people with disabilities: “We are in line for everything: Death, food, water, and the use of toilets. ….. They emphasize that there are many challenges that prevent them from being able to fulfill their responsibilities to themselves or as breadwinners for their families in such a martyrdom. Not to mention that many Palestinians with disabilities who have chronic diseases such as cancer, kidney disease, and severe ulcers suffer in light of the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip as a result of its continuous targeting by the Zionist military machine.

Here, the platform recalls Security Council Resolution 2475, a resolution to protect persons with disabilities in situations of natural disasters and acts of war, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, especially Article 11. The platform stresses that these resolutions and conventions must be respected and that new and innovative ways must be found to provide the best support and assistance to help people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip and realize their rights as the war operations end and peace comes.

Given that Palestinians with disabilities are the furthest removed from attempts at humanitarian intervention, and based on their voices, this statement makes the following two demands:

• A comprehensive ceasefire: Efforts should be intensified for a comprehensive ceasefire, befitting the depth of pain, loss and loss caused by the genocidal war.
• Inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian services: UN and international organizations, as well as the governing systems of all countries that design and manage humanitarian services, must include persons with disabilities in emergency humanitarian services, and include aids, medical and prosthetic devices, and medicines for them in what is allowed into the Gaza Strip, and include the sick among the groups being evacuated. as part of what is allowed into the Gaza Strip, include the sick among those evacuated from the Gaza Strip as quickly as possible, and deliberately target them in the provision of humanitarian services in the Gaza Strip.
• Investigate the conditions of Palestinian detainees: Relevant UN and international bodies should form and activate committees to look into the situation of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and detention centers. There are numerous testimonies that illustrate the scale of the crimes committed by the Zionist machine inside these detention centers, including rape, starvation, humiliation, beatings, sexual assaults, medical offenses, and more. Of course, there are many persons with disabilities who have been and continue to be subjected to these practices, in perhaps even darker circumstances (if possible), which requires immediate investigation and accountability.

Finally, this statement is a modest step in the face of these crimes, and we must all come together to think about what we can do in defense of the Palestinians’ right to resistance and self-determination on the one hand, and to ensure the equitable distribution of humanitarian and medical services on the other.