AUPsyS mission is to provide a forum for professional Arab psychological associations and for the Arab psychologists. It is committed to develop the psychology profession and all its branches, and contributes to development of the practice of psychology profession in the member States taking into consideration the Arab culture and according to the latest scientific developments and international standards.

A Position Statement on Behalf of

the Arab Union of Psychological Science AUPsyS

Regarding the Ongoing War and Genocides in Gaza (October 2023)

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The Arab Union of Psychological Science AUPsyS expresses its solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and condemns the Israeli occupation forces' brutal aggression and barbaric attacks, which resulted in the killing of more than a six thousand (6000) innocent civilians most of whom were children and women, as well as widespread destruction of residential buildings, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure.

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The brutal aggression carried out by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, using warplanes, advanced weapons, and phosphoric bombs, that are prohibited internationally against civilians, and targeting residential areas, hospitals, schools, and mosques, are all considered a war crime against humanity and clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention to protect civilians in times of war.

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The AUPsyS Condemns the bias of Western media and the policy makers adapting only the Israeli narrative reacting in complete silence toward the death of thousands of Palestinian children and women. It is very disappointing to see the double standard in the Western world watching the Gaza war forcing about 2.2 million people to face ethnic cleansing and trying to force them to migrate to the Sina desert, knowing the fact that two-thirds of those people are already refugees whom the Israelis forced to leave their homes 75 years ago after their homelands were taken and forced to live in Gaza, which is known as a concentrated camp and the biggest open prison in the world.

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The ongoing genocide being deliberately and savagely perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian civilian population under its illegal occupation must be stopped. Therefore, AUPsyS urgently calls on the international community to practice its duty and act immediately under international law to stop this Massacre and brutal killing of civilians in Gaza, and to stand against the torturing of the Palestinians and the illegal occupation of their homelands since 1947.

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The AUPsyS condemns the violations of human rights by the Israeli forces and asserts that there can be no justification for collective punishment and for denying people access to necessities like energy, food, water, and medicine. Therefore, we call on the international community to take the right moral stance and to immediately act by calling the world leaders and policymakers to provide and ensure the necessary protection for innocent civilians and to hold Israeli officials accountable for their crimes.

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The AUPsyS appeals to world leaders to call for the upholding of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which stands globally to protect the civilian population from any effects of hostilities and indiscriminate violence.

We further appeal to world leaders to stop the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands as the root cause of the main problem and start implementing international law and the resolutions of the United Nations and the Security Council that guarantee the Palestinians their rights and the restoration of their occupied lands.

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The AUPsyS calls on the World Health Organization and all mental health workers, including psychiatrists, nurses, counselors, and psychotherapists, to organize various intervention programs and to take the initiative to provide psychological first aid to the injured and those exposed to the effects of disasters and violence in various forms.