The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has celebrated this Monday that Israel has been incorporated into a United Nations list that identifies actors responsible for sexual violence in contexts of war. The decision has provoked an immediate reaction from the Israeli Executive, which has announced that it was "breaking all ties" with the office of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
In a statement, the Palestinian Islamist group stated that "Hamas applauds the inclusion of the Zionist occupation entity in the United Nations blacklist of those responsible for sexual violence in conflict zones, based on documented evidence and testimonies obtained by the relevant UN mechanisms."
The movement added that "this step constitutes further documentation of the organized and atrocious crimes committed by the occupation army against our Palestinian people," and described it as "an important milestone on the long-awaited path for the leaders of the occupation, war criminals, to be held accountable before justice."
Hamas has insisted that this decision "must not be limited to a UN record or description, but must be followed by practical and deterrent steps to stop the violations by the government of war criminal Netanyahu -- in reference to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu --," as reported by the Palestinian newspaper "Filastin."
In this regard, the group has called for "an immediate transition from condemnation to accountability, through the provision of international protection to the Palestinian people and trials against those responsible for these crimes before international courts."
Likewise, Hamas has called for international organizations to "intensify their efforts in documenting the crimes and violations committed by the occupation against the Palestinian people" and to "work to prosecute its leaders and soldiers," in addition to "exposing these criminal practices to global public opinion" with the aim of "ending the impunity that has incited the occupation to continue its crimes."