OPT/Israel: There is no safe place in Gaza. Impose an arms embargo and end the genocide now
“Genocide is the ultimate form of silencing. The ideal of one humanity living in peace and equality is at the core of PEN International’s mission. World leaders must respond to the gravity of the ongoing genocide in Gaza immediately and unequivocally. The dereliction of duty to prevent the genocide and hold its perpetrators accountable, is a moral stain on humanity. We must act now to protect Palestinian lives and stop the provision of arms which are willfully used to destroy them.” Germán Rojas, Chair of PEN International Writers for Peace Committee.
2 June 2025: PEN International calls for an immediate arms embargo on all parties to the conflict, and particularly a ban on the export of all weapons used by the state of Israel in its persistent and intentional targeting of Palestinian civilians across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) - Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. We are outraged by the persistent failure of the international community to stop the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, whilst Israel enforces an inhumane siege on the entire population, utilising starvation as a weapon of war and routinely killing civilians on a daily basis.
PEN International reiterates its calls for: an immediate and permanent ceasefire; unfettered access to humanitarian aid in Gaza; the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, including the systems of racial segregation and apartheid imposed there.
PEN International has documented harrowing testimonies of Palestinian writers across the OPT, all of whom have reported and corroborated the growing body of evidence demonstrating concerted and systematic efforts by Israel to erase the Palestinian people and their cultural heritage, particularly in Gaza.
PEN International concurs with the UN, legal experts, sister human rights organisations, and genocide scholars that genocide is being perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza through various means, including widespread indiscriminate killings, and the weaponisation of aid such as food and medicine.
The ongoing genocide in Gaza has marked the deadliest period for writers since World War II. Israel’s unrelenting bombardment of Gaza is resulting in widespread death, the systematic destruction of its vital infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, libraries, bookstores, water and electricity networks, and communications systems, and the forced displacement of its population, including writers, academics, artists, and cultural workers.
Over the past 18 months, at least 23 Palestinian writers (excluding artists and cultural workers) have been killed by Israeli bombardment. In the same period, Israel has also been responsible for the deaths of at least 173 Palestinian journalists and media workers. The sustained attack on Palestinian culture, including heritage sites, writers, and journalists, is a deliberate strategy to silence and erase the Palestinian people.
Writers in Gaza have reported to PEN International the irreversible loss of much of Gaza’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage, including independent cultural spaces, personal libraries, and locally produced literary work - all destroyed after years of effort under severe restrictions. As of 27 May 2025, UNESCO confirmed damage to 110 cultural sites in Gaza since 7 October 2023, including religious sites, historic buildings, monuments, museums, and archaeological sites.
Testimonies from writers also described the challenges they face amid the persistent threat to their lives. The relentless Israeli military operations, the indiscriminate bombardment of so-called “safe zones” with high explosives, unexploded ordnance, sniper attacks targeting civilians, and the ongoing arbitrary restrictions and ban on humanitarian aid – are a grim, daily reality. All writers who spoke to PEN International have consistently stressed that: “there is no place safe in Gaza.”
In September 2024, during its 90th Annual Congress, PEN International adopted a critical resolution condemning the alarming rise in targeted killings, arbitrary detentions, and restrictions on access to information in Palestine and Israel following the events of 7th October 2023, with Israeli authorities primarily responsible for these violations. The Assembly of Delegates also called on the international community to support swift, independent, and transparent investigations into the killings of writers and journalists and work towards ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine in line with international law.
Note to editors:
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