UN member states have wasted 25 years of potential by largely ignoring the crucial role that Palestinian women and girls should have played in building peace in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), says Oxfam.
In a new report, ‘Arming Injustice with Impunity', published in the wake of the October 31 anniversary marking 25 years since the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 was adopted and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, Oxfam says that the UN’s initiative has not only failed Palestinian women, but has reinforced the status quo by failing to confront the root causes of violence: Israel’s illegal occupation and militarization, and the international community’s complicity in selling arms and failing to hold Israel to account.
The WPS Agenda calls for women’s full participation in peace processes, protection from violence, and gender-responsive approaches to conflict prevention and recovery. While widely endorsed, its implementation has often been narrowed and inconsistent, particularly in contexts of prolonged occupation and systemic injustice.
Oxfam’s report, based on research conducted through consultation with partners and specialists in the field, outlines the devastating impacts upon women of Israel’s illegal occupation. In Gaza, almost 70,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 170,000 injured since October 2023, with women and children making up the majority of the casualties. Ninety percent of the population has been displaced, with Gaza left in ruins. Women face disproportionate burdens from the collapse of infrastructure, healthcare systems, denial of maternal care, and increased exposure to trauma, starvation, and gender-based violence.
These harms extend beyond the battlefield: Palestinian women in detention have also been subjected to systematic abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence, which UN investigations have found may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In the West Bank, armed settler attacks - often backed by Israeli forces - have led to sexual harassment, threats of rape, and destruction of homes and schools. Women and girls live in fear, leading to school dropouts, miscarriages, and long-term psychological harm. Women human rights defenders face detention and repression, while internal patriarchal structures, exacerbated by militarization and unlawful occupation, further marginalize women’s participation in political and public life.
Despite these challenges, Palestinian women-led civil society organizations continue to play key roles in providing education, protection support, and advocacy. However, the report criticizes the international community’s failure to uphold the WPS Agenda’s core commitments. States continuing to sell arms and militarily cooperating with Israel undermine their global commitments to women’s rights, gender equality and peace.
While the Palestinian Authority (PA) has adopted National Action Plans (NAPs) on WPS, their implementation is hindered by political fragmentation, lack of funding and lack of political will.
Originally envisioned to challenge power structures and centre women in peacebuilding, the WPS agenda in the OPT has been narrowed by militarized approaches and political fragmentation, that overlook the root causes that prevent full gender equality, protection, participation and justice, Oxfam says.
Oxfam believes that the WPS Agenda should return to its core: confronting militarism, enforcing international law, and prioritizing gender justice. For Palestinian women, peace requires dismantling Israel’s unlawful occupation, restoring justice and accountability and ensuring their voices are central in shaping a just and lasting future.
Notes to editors
The full report, Arming Injustice with Impunity: How Support for Israel’s illegal occupation and militarization undermines States’ commitments to gender equality and the WPS Agenda, is here
Another recently published Oxfam report on WPS, Beyond Rhetoric - Feminist Leadership for a Transformative Women, Peace and Security Agenda at 25 is here.
Killer facts:
- Almost 70,000 Palestinians killed and 170,000 injured in Gaza since October 2023 — the majority being women and children.
- With 90% of Gaza’s population forcibly displaced, with no safe zones remaining, women face trauma, humiliation, and increased vulnerability to GBV.
- Healthcare collapse: hospitals bombed, health workers killed, and maternal care denied.
- Armed settlers commit gendered crimes including sexual harassment and threats of rape.
- Women human rights defenders face arbitrary detention without charge or trial.
- Civil society groups provide vital support but face severe restrictions under occupation.
- The WPS Agenda has failed to address militarization and occupation in the OPT.
- In a context of genocide and unlawful occupation, arms-transfers to Israel have played a part in undermining global commitments to gender equality and peace.
The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000. It was the first resolution to formally recognize the unique impact of conflict on women and girls, and the critical role they play in peacebuilding and conflict prevention. The agenda is built around four key pillars: prevention, protection, participation, and relief and recovery.
Palestinian women face what has been described as ‘double jeopardy’: the combined impact of Israel’s prolonged military occupation and entrenched patriarchal laws and norms within Palestinian society. Discriminatory legal frameworks—many of which predate 1967—continue to restrict women’s rights in areas such as marriage, mobility, access to healthcare, and political participation. These are further compounded by the extreme challenges presented by Israel’s illegal occupation, including violence, displacement, and restrictions on movement. One particularly harrowing dimension is the treatment of Palestinian women in detention. According to a March 2025 report by the UN Commission of Inquiry, Israeli detention practices are marked by widespread and systematic abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence, which has intensified significantly since 7 October 2023. Women and girls have reported being subjected to forced nudity, threats of sexual violence including rape, and physical assault of a sexual nature during interrogations and searches. The Commission concluded that such acts amount to war crimes—including outrages upon personal dignity and inhuman treatment—and crimes against humanity, including torture. It further found that these abuses reflect an intentional policy aimed at humiliating and degrading Palestinian detainees through sexual, reproductive, and other forms of gender-based violence, observed across multiple facilities and transit locations.
Contact information
Jacqui Corcoran jacqui.corcoran@oxfam.org
+353 87 293 2271 / +353 87 912 3165
The full report, Arming Injustice with Impunity: How Support for Israel’s illegal occupation and militarization undermines States’ commitments to gender equality and the WPS Agenda, is here
Another recently published Oxfam report on WPS, Beyond Rhetoric - Feminist Leadership for a Transformative Women, Peace and Security Agenda at 25 is here.
Killer facts:
- Almost 70,000 Palestinians killed and 170,000 injured in Gaza since October 2023 — the majority being women and children.
- With 90% of Gaza’s population forcibly displaced, with no safe zones remaining, women face trauma, humiliation, and increased vulnerability to GBV.
- Healthcare collapse: hospitals bombed, health workers killed, and maternal care denied.
- Armed settlers commit gendered crimes including sexual harassment and threats of rape.
- Women human rights defenders face arbitrary detention without charge or trial.
- Civil society groups provide vital support but face severe restrictions under occupation.
- The WPS Agenda has failed to address militarization and occupation in the OPT.
- In a context of genocide and unlawful occupation, arms-transfers to Israel have played a part in undermining global commitments to gender equality and peace.
The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000. It was the first resolution to formally recognize the unique impact of conflict on women and girls, and the critical role they play in peacebuilding and conflict prevention. The agenda is built around four key pillars: prevention, protection, participation, and relief and recovery.
Palestinian women face what has been described as ‘double jeopardy’: the combined impact of Israel’s prolonged military occupation and entrenched patriarchal laws and norms within Palestinian society. Discriminatory legal frameworks—many of which predate 1967—continue to restrict women’s rights in areas such as marriage, mobility, access to healthcare, and political participation. These are further compounded by the extreme challenges presented by Israel’s illegal occupation, including violence, displacement, and restrictions on movement. One particularly harrowing dimension is the treatment of Palestinian women in detention. According to a March 2025 report by the UN Commission of Inquiry, Israeli detention practices are marked by widespread and systematic abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence, which has intensified significantly since 7 October 2023. Women and girls have reported being subjected to forced nudity, threats of sexual violence including rape, and physical assault of a sexual nature during interrogations and searches. The Commission concluded that such acts amount to war crimes—including outrages upon personal dignity and inhuman treatment—and crimes against humanity, including torture. It further found that these abuses reflect an intentional policy aimed at humiliating and degrading Palestinian detainees through sexual, reproductive, and other forms of gender-based violence, observed across multiple facilities and transit locations.
Jacqui Corcoran jacqui.corcoran@oxfam.org
+353 87 293 2271 / +353 87 912 3165
