Amnesty International has suspended its Israel branch for two years, citing anti-Palestinian racism and misalignment with global human rights positions.
The International Board of Amnesty has decided to suspend Amnesty International Israel’s (AI) membership in the global network for two years following the branch’s criticism of their recent reports, according to Israeli media.
“Amnesty Israel was given two reasons from Amnesty International for the suspension: first, the branch conducts itself in a racist manner against Palestinians; second, the reports and messaging coming from Amnesty Israel do not align with Amnesty International,” the Israeli i24 news channel reported on Tuesday, citing “a source inside Amnesty International.”
The source reportedly told the channel that there were “several disagreements” between the two sides, and that Amnesty Israel “has also been dissatisfied with the lack of emphasis placed on Israeli victims by the broader organization, which has contributed to the friction.”
‘Systematically Excluded Palestinians’
The Jerusalem Post cited “leaked internal memorandums issued on Monday” that includes allegations that the Israel branch “systematically excluded Palestinians.”
“We take this action in response to evidence of endemic anti-Palestinian racism within AI Israel, which violates core human rights principles and Amnesty values, and evidence of AI Israel’s misalignment with and hostility to Amnesty positions,” an email from the IB Amnesty International interim chair Tiumalu Lauvale Peter Fa’afiu reportedly stated, said the Jerusalem Post.
Finally, the International Board of @amnesty suspended Amnesty International Israel’s (AI) membership for two years in response to the Israeli branch’s criticism of their recent report.
Was waiting for this for weeks. https://t.co/t68ygZ9RgI
— Ahmed Eldin (@ASE) January 7, 2025
The paper reported that Fa’afiu “asserted that Amnesty Israel had taken action against Amnesty International’s research publicizing differing opinions against the 2022 report Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity and the 2023 report You Feel Like You Are Subhuman:’ Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza.”
Fa’afiu is further quoted as saying that “AI Israel has sought to publicly discredit Amnesty’s human rights research and positions.”
He said, “Its efforts to publicly undermine the findings and recommendations of Amnesty’s 2022 report on Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians and, more recently, Amnesty’s 2024 report on Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, have been deeply prejudicial to Amnesty’s human rights mission, threatening our credibility, integrity and operational coherence.
‘Harsh Criticism’
In December, Amnesty Israel rejected AI’s report that concluded that it has found “sufficient basis” to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Fa’afiu cited an article by former Amnesty Israel members Amal Ourabi and Muhammad Abdel Kader, the Jerusalem Post noted, who wrote in a December 16 Mekomit opinion piece that there was an internal crisis in the branch due to the report.
Amnesty International just suspended the Israel branch over its rejection of the apartheid and genocide reports, and “endemic anti-Palestinian racism.” The national branch of the most prominent global human rights organisation suspended for structural racism. pic.twitter.com/z5ijE29nBp
— Nicola Perugini (@PeruginiNic) January 7, 2025
“Other Israeli members reportedly expressed harsh criticism for investigations of racism in the local branch while turning a blind eye to antisemitism within the movement,” the report stated. It also said that the whistleblowers related that Israeli branch members “alleged that AI leadership was politicizing human rights discourse and promoting anti-Israel policies.”
The paper said Amnesty Israel “reportedly threatened to close their own branch if the global movement didn’t take steps to improve.”
Ourabi and Kader reportedly said that they left because Amnesty Israel “supposedly ignored Israeli human rights violations, and was focused on the impact of October 7 when a year later the war barely impacted Israelis as Palestinians continued to suffer.”
‘Countless Warnings’
Amnesty International said in a statement following the release of the 296-page report in December that it had, on multiple occasions, shared its findings with the Israeli authorities but had received no substantive response at the time of publication. The report was titled ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza’.
‘This is Genocide’ – Amnesty Says There is ‘Sufficient Evidence’ to Accuse Israel
“Our research reveals that, for months, Israel has persisted in committing genocidal acts, fully aware of the irreparable harm it was inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“It continued to do so in defiance of countless warnings about the catastrophic humanitarian situatin and of legally binding decisions from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to take immediate measures to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” Callamard stated.
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Massive destruction and flattening of buildings was caused by an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip yesterday, resulting in the slaughtering of at least 4 Palestinians and injuries to others, including women and children. pic.twitter.com/3f2B25DIC4
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 7, 2025
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,854 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,139 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Humanitarian Disaster
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
Over 1,000 in London demand an end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system.
🩺 Hospitals bombed.
👨⚕️ 1,050+ health workers killed.
❌ UK arms exports under scrutiny.#ProtectHealthcare #FreePalestine #Ceasefirehttps://t.co/cYgI9sEEnR pic.twitter.com/HCS6CS8vMa— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 7, 2025
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(PC, Al Mayadeen)
