Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Tokyo office of Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a statement saying Japan’s government should explicitly call out war crimes for which Israeli authorities are responsible. The statement cited Israel’s decision to cut off water and electricity – a form of collective punishment – and blocking all but a trickle of humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

As of November 8, the Israeli military campaign had killed more than 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including 4,300 children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Human Rights Watch Tokyo said that “as the chair of the Group of Seven (G7) nations and a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Japanese government should do more, such as playing a particularly important role in supporting the ICC’s mission to ensure accountability for serious crimes by all parties.”

The statement also said that while “Japan was right to condemn Hamas’ terrorist acts, Israeli authorities have maintained an abusive occupation for decades and have been committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians.”

Since 2021, the ICC prosecutor’s office has been investigating alleged serious crimes in Palestine, which is also an ICC member. According to HRW, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said there was “clear evidence” of war crimes in Israel and Gaza and that it would be sharing information with relevant judicial authorities, especially the ICC.

“The Japanese government should ensure the ICC has the political, diplomatic, and financial support it needs to carry out its work on Palestine and across its global mandate,” the HRW statement said. “It’s critical that Japan stays true to its public pledge of human rights diplomacy and applies it consistently.”

HRW’s Tokyo office said it welcomed Japan’s pledge to increase its humanitarian aid.