HIC Solidarity with Palestine: Third October of Genocide

Urban October / World Habitat Day - Reinforcing our global call for solidarity with and reparations for the Indigenous Palestinian People

From solidarity to direct action, from recovery to reparation, this World Habitat Day, HIC reaffirm its stand with the People of Palestine everywhere, denouncing, once again, the ongoing genocide against its People and the decades of colonization, dehumanization, dispossession, occupation, exploitation, fragmentation and displacement that Israel has imposed. As these Israeli crimes only worsen, state leaders and international organizations start to take steps, albeit very timid ones. The recent wave of Western states’ recognition of the State of Palestine remains only symbolic, without effective measures to bring about the end of the composite crimes committed against Palestine’s land and People, as each state is obliged to do as a condition of its legitimacy in the international system.

This call is issued through the joint deliberation of our Members reunited in person in November 2024 and builds upon previous manifestos and mobilizations by other civil society networks around the world. As organized civil society, HIC Members have determined to escalate their solidarity and actions in support of Palestine and Palestinians. As a coalition promoting and protecting human rights related to habitat, in particular adequate housing and land, duty call us to fight against the systematic violation of such these human rights of the Indigenous Palestinian People. Drawing on the conclusions of a teach-in cycle held in August and September focused on Palestine and habitat rights, HIC launches this campaign with three main objectives; to:

• Reinforce our solidarity with the Palestinian People and our urgent call to states and their governments to take significant steps to end the ongoing genocide and ensure reparations for the gross violations of Palestinian People’s rights, particularly their human rights to adequate housing and land;
• Elucidate the habitat component of the Palestinian People’s struggle and Israel’s criminal by providing materials and guidance for mobilization and for denouncing these gross violation, while framing the current situation within the wider context of struggles against colonial domination and for self-determination ongoing in other regions of the world;
• Mobilize concrete mechanisms and resources for individuals and organizations to pursue justice in Palestine.

• From recovery to reparation: A call on states to uphold Indigenous Palestinian People’s habitat rights

As such, we take this opportunity to reinforce our ongoing call on states to fulfill their duties to bring an end to the genocide, denouncing and holding Israel and its agents responsible for their crimes, serious breaches and human rights violations.

We assert the social force of international mobilization and solidarity where our governments have failed and/or been complicit in these crimes, calling on individuals and organizations also to exercise their own human rights and solidarity duties to loudly denounce and oppose Israel’s crimes and mobilize for Palestinian freedom also by joining the global boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign.

As a coalition fighting for the recognition, defense and fulfillment of habitat-related human rights, we are particularly concerned by the gross violations of such rights by Israel. These violations emanate from the very inception of the Zionist colonial project, including invasion, acquisition of territory through force and deception, violent depopulation, dispossession and population transfer that Israeli settlers and Zionist institutions have carried out over decades, arriving at the current situation in which Israel forces target the destruction of the Indigenous People’s homes, shelters and shelter seekers to advance the ongoing genocide. As denounced by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, “domicide” should be recognized as both a war crime and a crime against humanity, as in this clear case.

We demand that our representatives:

• Cease any direct or indirect import / export, or facilitate trade in weapons and matériel to Israel;
• Meet their legal obligation to end the illegal situation by imposing sanctions to Israel in response to the violations of international law, including peremptory norms;
• Implement a permanent cease-fire in Palestine and their human rights obligations and related erga omnes duties as states;
• Respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law, including the distribution of food, water and hygiene products through humanitarian channels, led by UNRWA.

We reinforce and reiterate our demands presented in previous statements and campaigns, strengthening our call for an end of the genocide and recognition of the Indigenous Palestinian People’s right to their territory. Moreover, as we look for a future beyond the current devastation, we envision a scenario that goes beyond rebuilding and is grounded on historic reparations to the Palestinian People.

We call on our Members to print this statement and circulate them with the relevant authorities in their country, including local and regional governments, which, as organs of the state, are bound to these obligations to uphold international peace and world order.

What else can we do? 

The recent HIC “Understanding Palestine” teach-in series helped HIC Members learn about historic strategies and initiatives of resistance against alien domination and occupation, as well as determine what we can do as individuals, organizations and as a Coalition. The teach-in conclusions present some of these reflections, with useful links and resources to support you in your own individual and joint mobilization.

Image: World Habitat Day 2025 logo with outline map of Palestine. Source: UN Habitat/HIC-HLRN.