UNGA Should Deploy Peacekeeping Forces to Gaza and the West Bank
(WASHINGTON, D.C., September 18, 2025) — The international community must suspend trade and diplomatic relations with Israel to compel compliance with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) ES-10/24, which demands that Israel end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) by September 18, 2025.
The UNGA resolution urged the international community to, inter alia, impose arms embargos, economic and trade sanctions, and seek accountability for war crimes, human rights violations, and crimes against humanity. In light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and escalating atrocities in the West Bank, DAWN also urges the UNGA to authorize a protection force to Palestine under a Uniting for Peace resolution.
"Israel's defiance of the UN's deadline to end its apartheid and genocidal acts represents not just contempt for the UN, but a calculated rejection of the entire international legal order," said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of DAWN. "The Trump administration's efforts to obstruct justice by sanctioning ICC judges, the ICC prosecutor and human rights defenders seeking accountability for Israeli crimes demand an immediate international response."
On September 18, 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution ES-10/24 with overwhelming support, giving Israel until today to withdraw from Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967. The resolution also demanded that Israel end its apartheid regime, return seized property to Palestinians and allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes, respect the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) provisional measures regarding the prevention of genocide, and to provide reparations to the Palestinian people for the harm they have suffered due to the illegal occupation and apartheid rule. The resolution followed and sought to implement the ICJ's historic July 2024 advisory opinion, which unequivocally determined that Israel's now-58-year occupation is illegal, its policies constitute apartheid under international law, and it must end this unlawful presence "as rapidly as possible." The ICJ also ruled in 2024 that Israel's assault on Gaza included plausibly genocidal acts and demanded that Israel end its blockade on food, medicine, and water and further attacks on civilians.
Far from complying with the UN's demands, Israel has accelerated its illegal activities. Since the ICJ occupation opinion, Israel has formalized dozens of new settlements in the West Bank, and on July 23, 2025, the Knesset passed legislation endorsing West Bank annexation. These actions confirm what DAWN's recent policy memorandum to the UN two-state conference makes clear: Israel has no intention of ending its occupation voluntarily and must be compelled through concrete, collective international pressure.
"The international community's failure to stop the genocide in Gaza while deliberating the conditions Palestine's statehood is a moral catastrophe that undermines the little remaining credibility of the post-war international system," said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, Israel-Palestine director at DAWN. "Every day of delay means more Palestinian lives lost, more families destroyed, and more evidence that the current international order values political cowardice over Palestinian lives."
From Words to Action: Concrete Measures Required
DAWN calls on UN member states to immediately implement the following measures, all of which were explicitly mandated by UNGA Resolution ES-10/24 or referenced in UN Secretary General AG in his December 19, 2024 follow-up report on its implementation:
— Impose bilateral arms embargoes on Israel "in all cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they may be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory"
— Impose trade and economic sanctions on Israel as pressure to end its illegal presence in the OPT and to end its apartheid regime
–Ban the import of all settlement products
— Implement targeted sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for maintaining the occupation and apartheid regime
— Support ICC and ICJ proceedings, including by sharing evidence, pledging to arrest fugitives, and take measures to protect persons targeted for retribution by the United States for their work with the ICC
— Suspend Israel from the UN General Assembly, as was done with apartheid South Africa in 1974
— Support the immediate establishment of an international reparation mechanism for all damage, loss or injury arising from the internationally wrongful acts of Israel in the OPT
— Authorize the deployment of an international peacekeeping or protection force to help end the genocide in Gaza
"The international community has the tools—arms embargos, sanctions, diplomatic isolation, peacekeeping forces, and suspension from international bodies," said Raed Jarrar, DAWN's advocacy director. "Just as the UNGA suspended apartheid South Africa, it should immediately suspend Israel and impose sanctions, including on Netanyahu. War criminals should not be treated as legitimate heads of state."
The U.S. Shield of Impunity Must Break
The Trump administration has flagrantly violated UNGA Resolution ES-10/24 by escalating its obstruction of accountability mechanisms when it comes to Israel. In direct contravention of the resolution's call for states to support accountability efforts and cooperate with international judicial processes, the administration sanctioned ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan for pursuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials, targeted Palestinian human rights organizations documenting war crimes, and imposed sanctions on UN officials who document Israeli violations. These actions constitute unlawful interference with the ICC's judicial functions under Article 70 of the Rome Statute, which prohibits obstructing the administration of justice.
Rather than fulfilling the obligation to "not render aid or assistance" in maintaining Israel's illegal occupation, the United States has actively shielded Israel from consequences while punishing those seeking justice. DAWN has previously called for the ICC to investigate U.S. officials, including President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, for potential complicity in aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza through continued arms transfers despite clear knowledge of systematic violations.
"This criminal obstruction of justice makes collective international action not just necessary but imperative," said Omer-Man. "When one permanent Security Council member actively defies international law to protect a client state committing genocide and apartheid, the international community must use every available mechanism—from economic sanctions to arms and trade embargoes—to uphold the rules-based order."
