DAWN Policy Recommendations Demand End to Israeli Crimes as Prerequisites to Statehood Deliberations
(New York, July 28, 2025) – The High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution should prioritize unconditionally ending Israel's crimes of genocide, apartheid, and unlawful occupation before addressing issues of final governance, said DAWN in a set of recommendations sent to the conference today. The conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, will take place on July 28-29 at the U.N. headquarters in New York, after being postponed from June.
"The international community must force Israel to end its crimes – genocide, apartheid and illegal occupation – unconditionally and immediately – before addressing questions of statehood and governance for Palestine," said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's executive director. "The Palestinian people are the only ones who have the right to determine what their future governance looks like, and that must happen democratically, not imposed by fiat."
DAWN's memorandum outlines the legal obligations of U.N. Member States to end Israel's occupation, genocide and apartheid rule, and critical tools available to accomplish this an immediate ceasefire with international peacekeeping forces mandated by the UNGA; expansive sanctions on the Israeli government, including a termination of diplomatic and economic relations and a complete arms embargo; a reconstruction process for Gaza guaranteeing the non-displacement of Palestinians; reparations through an amended UN Compensation Commission mandate; and comprehensive criminal accountability for Israeli, Palestinian, and international actors who perpetrated or enabled war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The recommendations are grounded in the International Court of Justice's July 19, 2024 advisory opinion of the ICJ (the "ICJ Opinion") finding Israel's occupation unlawful and requiring immediate settlement evacuation, UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolutions ES-10/24 and A/RES/79/81, and the urgent need to operationalize international law while Palestinians face extermination in Gaza.
"The central question is not whether the future brings one state, two states, or confederation, but whether any arrangement ends Israeli genocide, occupation and apartheid and guarantees equal rights for all those living between the River and the Sea," said Raed Jarrar, DAWN's advocacy director. "We cannot discuss Palestinian governance while Israel is starving Palestinian children to death and making moves to annex all of the West Bank."
DAWN's framework calls for immediate deployment of international protection forces under "Uniting for Peace" mechanisms. The peacekeeping mandate should include establishing no-fly zones over Gaza and the West Bank, preventing further settlement construction, and facilitating the orderly evacuation of all settlers.
With respect to any reconstruction plans for Gaza, DAWN emphasizes that any efforts must prevent ethnic cleansing and forced population transfer, including temporary displacement outside historic Palestine. Egypt's reconstruction initiative endorsed by the Arab League on March 4, 2025 provides important principles for ensuring Palestinians remain in their homeland while reconstruction proceeds. Israel must bear primary financial responsibility for reconstruction costs to prevent externalizing the consequences of its destructive campaigns.
"International recognition of Palestinian statehood is important, but recognition alone cannot remedy the horrific crimes of genocide, apartheid and illegal occupation," said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, DAWN's director for Israel-Palestine. "Statehood recognition must be accompanied by concrete measures ensuring Palestinians can exercise genuine sovereignty over territory, security, economy, and natural resources."
The memo proposes amending the United Nations Compensation Commission mandate to include Israel-Palestine reparations, leveraging the institutional framework that successfully processed $52.4 billion in reparations from Iraq following Kuwait's invasion. An amended UNCC should require Israel to pay reparations through a percentage of government revenues while including both Israeli and Palestinian representatives in the process.
The accountability framework must extend beyond individual perpetrators to include international enablers. DAWN's ICC communication against former President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by providing military, political and public support to Israel, including $17.9 billion in weapons transfers since the start of the genocide in October 2023, demonstrates the scope of international complicity requiring prosecution. Comprehensive sanctions should target military commanders, settlement policy officials, and businesses profiting from occupation violations.
The memorandum emphasizes that the conference represents a historic opportunity to move from failed interim measures toward definitive action based on clear legal obligations. French President Macron has pledged to announce French recognition of Palestinian statehood during the event, while Saudi officials have described the conference as occurring at a moment of "historic urgency" with Gaza "enduring unimaginable suffering."
However, DAWN warns that recognition of Palestinian statehood without addressing ongoing Israeli crimes risks achieving no substantive progress. Any future political arrangement for Israeli and Palestinian governance must address systematic apartheid rule, end military administration of Palestinian territories, and establish constitutional protections for equality regardless of nationality or religion.
