DaysofPal- The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has announced the closure of its office in the Gaza Strip after nearly 15 years of field operations, citing a series of precautionary measures taken in response to escalating Israeli threats and official punitive actions targeting the organization and its staff.
In a statement, the rights group said the measures come amid pressure linked to its professional documentation of Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
Euro-Med Monitor noted that recent weeks have witnessed an organized and systematic campaign of incitement and defamation against the organization and its personnel by Israeli officials, government bodies, public figures, and prominent media and advocacy platforms. The organization said the campaign intensified after it published a report documenting allegations of sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons.
The organization stated that the campaign sought to associate independent human rights work with false political accusations lacking any logical basis, creating a dangerous environment that could lead to direct or indirect targeting of its staff. It noted that such concerns are heightened by previous incidents involving the targeting of human rights workers, humanitarian personnel, and civilians.
Euro-Med Monitor said the campaign focused on its leadership, staff members, and affiliates through individual and collective smear efforts, alongside ongoing calls for punitive measures against them. It added that some members of its team received direct death threats because of their active role in documenting events in Gaza.
The organization also said that Israeli occupation forces imposed punitive measures at the end of May affecting the movement of 40 individuals associated with Euro-Med Monitor, including board members, employees, volunteers, and partners. It described these restrictions as part of official and unofficial pressure aimed at halting documentation of Israeli violations.
Commitments to Documentation Remain Unshaken
Despite the closure of its Gaza office, Euro-Med Monitor stressed that the decision does not mean it will cease operations or abandon its ethical and professional responsibilities. The organization said it remains committed to documenting violations, supporting victims, and preserving evidence and testimonies in accordance with recognized legal and professional standards.
However, it explained that the closure was prompted by legitimate concerns arising from increasing and direct Israeli threats, particularly given the involvement of official Israeli bodies in the campaign against the organization.
The rights group held Israeli occupation forces fully responsible for the safety of all its staff members, volunteers, and partners, both inside and outside Gaza. It called on relevant international actors to immediately condemn the Israeli measures and to exert pressure to protect human rights workers and end what it described as persecution, targeting, incitement, and defamation campaigns against them.
Euro-Med Monitor highlighted that the campaign against it forms part of a broader pattern of targeting human rights defenders, journalists, and humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip in an effort to silence independent voices documenting serious violations and exposing their impact on victims and survivors.
The organization further stated that Israel’s punitive measures against it and its personnel constitute an attack on the right to defend human rights and on the right to access information and document violations. It warned that such actions represent a serious attempt to undermine international accountability efforts regarding crimes committed in Gaza.
Euro-Med Monitor urged the United Nations, particularly the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant special procedures, as well as the European Union and the states party to the Geneva Conventions, to take urgent and public positions condemning the campaign of incitement and persecution. It also called for pressure on Israel to halt any retaliatory measures against human rights organizations and their staff and to ensure that they can carry out their work freely, safely, and without intimidation or punishment.
Concluding its statement, the organization reaffirmed its commitment to its mission, declaring that its work did not begin because conditions were safe or easy and would not stop because Israel had chosen to increase its cost.
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