January 15, 2008, Jerusalem: Nine Israeli human rights organizations held a press conference Wednesday calling for urgent humanitarian action in Gaza, and read a statement to top Israel officials demanding that they stop harming civilians.

The statement called Israel’s actions “a blatant violation of the laws of warfare” and asked that Israeli leaders be investigated for the commission of war crimes.

The statement emphasized that civilians in Gaza have nowhere to flee, the health care system has collapsed, many lack access to water and electricity, and sewage is running in the streets. The organizations demanded that Israel stop targeting civilian locations that do not serve any military purpose, open a route for civilians to escape the battle zone, allow rescue and medical teams to reach battle-torn zones to evacuate the injured and bring supplies, and secure the proper operation of the electricity, water and sewage systems.

The groups that signed the statement included Adalah (The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel), Amnesty International Israel Section, Bimkom Planners for Planning Rights, B’tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories), Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Hamoked Center for Defence of the Individual, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Yesh Din (Volunteers for Human Rights).

B’tselem, which recently opened an office in Washington and held a joint event with The Advocacy Project (AP) at Georgetown University, has started a blog following the ongoing work of the Israeli human rights community during the Gaza crisis.

AP partner the Alternative Information Center (AIC), a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization, also featured the Israeli groups’ call for action as part of their ongoing news coverage.

The AIC issued its own statement today urging political, as well as humanitarian aid, to stop the fighting. The statement asked governments and international aid agencies to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza and to support political negotiations grounded in international law.