International voices demand justice for Palestine in the “Gaza Court” | news

Activists, lawyers and writers from around the world stressed during the sessions of the “Gaza People’s Court” in Istanbul the need to achieve justice for the Palestinians following the two-year war of extermination launched by Israel, while legal experts shed light on Israeli crimes and the failure of the international system to stop the genocide.

Today, Thursday, the court opened the final hearings and will issue a final decision next Sunday. The court is an independent international initiative, founded in the British capital, London, in November 2024, by academics, intellectuals, human rights defenders, and representatives of civil organizations, due to the international community’s complete failure to implement international law in the Gaza Strip.

In a session entitled “Expressions of the Global Conscience,” Indian writer Arundhati Roy said that Israel had committed genocide broadcast live against the Palestinians, indicating that it had killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, and that the final number would be determined after removing thousands of tons of rubble.

Roy continued, “The United States could have stopped this massacre in one afternoon, so the question is: Who is responsible for this genocide?”

The conscience of civil society

For her part, American actress Marcia Cross spoke about the systematic destruction in Gaza, and the failures of international institutions to stop the genocide.

Cross emphasized that the legal and political systems designed to protect lives failed to stop the Israeli killing machine, stressing the importance of the role of the Gaza Court in documenting and exposing crimes as the conscience of civil society.

#Translated by Shehab| The final session of the “Gaza Court”, a global and independent initiative established to investigate war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, began in Istanbul.

The Gaza Court will announce its final decision on October 26.

Over the course of four days, various events and programs will be held around Gaza and Palestine.

– It is held… pic.twitter.com/903l0FJrmC

– Shehab News Agency (@ShehabAgency) October 23, 2025

In turn, Director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Raji Sourani, spoke – in an intervention via video call – to the unprecedented challenges faced by international justice mechanisms in addressing Israeli crimes in Palestine.

Sourani pointed out, “The word peace is still a fantasy and not a reality. What has happened so far is genocide and ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

As for the American human rights activist Omar Suleiman, he stressed the need to tell the story of what the Palestinian people in general and the people of Gaza in particular suffered for future generations.

An international failure

In another session entitled “An overview of the work of the Gaza court boards,” Boston University law professor Susan Akram confirmed the existence of major gaps in international legal frameworks, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

Akram stated that the goal of the Gaza Court is to expose the weakness of these institutions in dealing with issues such as genocide, ethnic cleansing, and targeting civilians.

She explained that the evidence presented showed the arbitrary arrests and torture committed by Israel and its deprivation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza from water, food, and medical aid.

For his part, American lawyer and former United Nations official Craig Mokheber said, “Israeli crimes are broadcast live, and yet the international system failed to stop the genocide in Palestine.”

Mokheiber spoke about the role played by the major powers, led by the United States, in obstructing ceasefire efforts in Gaza. He stressed that civil society remains the real force in confronting this systematic injustice.

What is the Gaza Court and why is it important?
From October 23 to 26, a people’s court will try genocide crimes in Istanbul.
Gaza is watching. We will be there. Will you be there?
Istanbul University, Conference Hall, Professor Dr. Cemil Bilcel
You can fill out the registration form to attend court in person, or watch it… pic.twitter.com/n1sXVnsCMA

— Gaza Tribunal (@gazatribunal) October 19, 2025

As for Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Jamil Aydin, he pointed out that “every genocide is based on a security logic,” and that Israel justifies genocide under the pretext of national security.

For her part, Penny Green, professor of law at Queen Mary University of London, confirmed that the genocide in Palestine demonstrated the inability of the United Nations system to deter these crimes.

She added that civil society has proven its effectiveness in documenting and exposing Israeli colonial policies, calling for urgent global action because the lives of Palestinians are in danger, and our failure is no longer an option.

“It’s time for accountability”

At the opening of the sessions, the head of the Gaza Court Initiative, Richard Falk, said that the time has come to insist on holding Israel accountable for the crimes it committed against the Palestinians.

Falk, a former UN rapporteur on human rights in Palestine, stressed that Israel’s repeated violations of the ceasefire are evidence that it does not seek peace.

He expressed his hope that the jury in court would reveal the facts, not only about what happened, but also about what is currently happening.

The jury includes the French journalist Kenza Murad, the Malaysian political scientist and head of the “Just World International Movement” Chandra Muzaffar, the Palestinian academic Ghada Karmi, the former president of the Kenyan Supreme Constitutional Court Willie Mutunga, one of the organizers of the Global Resilience Fleet Thiago Avila, the Palestinian academic Sami Al-Erian, the Palestinian poet Tamim Barghouti, and professor of international law Christine Chinkin.