[The occupation has been the vehicle to colonise, brutalise,
arbitrarily arrest, detain and carry out summary executions against
Palestinians. You can stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and
still condemn the atrocities that Hamas committed.]
[[link removed]]

ISRAEL-PALESTINE CRISIS HAS ‘REACHED AN UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF
DEHUMANISATION’  
[[link removed]]


 

Francesca Albanese
October 29, 2023
UN News [[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ The occupation has been the vehicle to colonise, brutalise,
arbitrarily arrest, detain and carry out summary executions against
Palestinians. You can stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and
still condemn the atrocities that Hamas committed. _

UN News Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied.,

 

In an interview with UN News, UN Human Rights Council
[[link removed]]-appointed
expert Francesca Albanese, said it was “impossible to describe the
pain and suffering that Israelis are going through because of what
happened to them...because there are not only those who were killed,
those who were taken hostage, but there is an entire population that
was completely shaken”.

But describing the UN chief’s words to the Security Council
[[link removed]] last Tuesday when he noted
that  [[link removed]]the brutal
attacks by Hamas fighters of 7 October “did not occur in a vacuum”
as “brave”, she stressed Gazans have “already suffered five
deadly wars…during the period Israel has declared an unlawful
blockade over the Gaza Strip, entrapping 2.2 million people.”

And since 7 October "they have been recklessly bombarded with an
average of 6,000 bombs launched per week,” she added.

PROTECTING CHILDREN

Over 7,700 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli bombing
campaign began, with more than 19,740 injured, said the
[[link removed]] UN
aid coordination office (OCHA [[link removed]]) on Saturday,
according to the Hamas run Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Children’s Fund UNICEF [[link removed]] reported earlier
[[link removed]] in
the week that nearly 2,400 children were among the dead in Gaza, with
women and children accounting for 66 per cent of the casualties.

“All schools have been targeted one way or another”, said Ms.
Albanese.

“Schools have been hit by the bombings, hospitals have been hit by
the bombings" and there has been a tightening of the blockade.
"Israeli leaders, one way or another, are blaming and holding all
Palestinians in Gaza responsible and are punishing all Palestinians in
Gaza for what Hamas and other military groups have done”, she added.

WHO: Mourners attend the funeral of people who died following Israeli
strikes in Gaza.

OCCUPYING POWER

The independent human rights expert also criticised Israel’s
continued occupation of Palestinian lands and the mistreatment of
Palestinians. 

“We are talking of an occupying power. Israel is an occupying power
vis a vis the Palestinians. There is no independent and sovereign
Palestinian state,” said Ms. Albanese.

“The occupation has been the vehicle to colonise, brutalise,
arbitrarily arrest and detain and to carry out summary executions
against the Palestinian people.”

She criticised the international community for not doing more to end
the illegal occupation.

“Has the international community ever stopped this protracted
illegality? No. This is why I keep on saying the international
community has a huge, huge responsibility in the catastrophe that is
now unfolding.”

RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENCE

The rights expert highlighted that both Israel and Palestine maintain
the right to defend themselves militarily, although this response must
remain proportional to the perceived threat.

“There was an incursion in Israeli territory that resulted in the
killing and brutalization of Israeli civilians so that incursions had
to be repelled,” said Ms. Albanese.

She argued that, once the attack was successfully repelled, however,
the subsequent bombings of targets in Gaza represent violations of
international law.

“What Israel is doing is considered by some Member States legitimate
self-defence, which it is not. Because how can it be self-defence, the
bombing, the carpet bombing of an entire population under a very
opaque and vague objective of eradicating Hamas?”

Soundcloud

RIGHT TO RESISTANCE

The right to resist is guaranteed under international law, although
this resistance does have limits. The rights expert emphasised that,
despite Palestinians’ right to resist Israeli occupation, Hamas’
attack on civilians violated the right to resistance.

“Resistance has rules and limits, and they are the same that apply
to any warring parties. So, each actor engaging as part of the
resistance becomes responsible for the choice of actions and methods
of engagement. And killing civilians is never permitted under
international law.”

WHO: Extensive destruction has been caused by Israeli airstrikes in
the north of Gaza.

LEGITIMATE TARGETS?

Ms. Albanese criticised the Israeli government’s continued
dehumanisation of Palestinian civilians.

“It manifests in the statements of various Israeli political leaders
who have referred to the Palestinians as human animals, as deserving
the treatment they are receiving because they are all responsible for
what Hamas is doing, otherwise they would have revolted against Hamas.
As if that hadn’t happened,” she said.

“[Israeli politician] Naftali Bennett has inferred that there are no
civilians in Gaza, that even babies become a legitimate target. How
can it be? How can it be? How can you hold a newborn responsible?”

INTERNATIONAL FAILURES

The international community has failed to provide adequate support for
ending hostilities between Israel and Palestine, argued Ms. Albanese.

“What the international community had an opportunity to do, for
once, was to show support to both the Israeli and Palestinian people.
It was horrific what the Israelis have suffered as of the 7th of
October, and at the same time, the international community missed the
opportunity to act wisely and even-handedly, vis a vis both in a way
that could be seen as leading to peace.”

She also criticised Western countries for their unwavering support of
Israel despite its human rights violations.

“Western countries have, with a few exceptions, rallied around
Israel, basically supporting what Israel is doing, self-defence. What
Israel does should be in line with international [law]. But it's
not.”

Ms. Albanese also called on the Arab world to condemn Hamas’
targeting of civilian targets while still expressing their support for
Palestine.

“There is a huge mobilisation in the Arab world in solidarity with
the Palestinians. At the same time, I want to say to those in the Arab
world, you can stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and still
condemn the atrocities that Hamas has committed. This is necessary.”

‘MANY MORE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE’

The Special Rapporteur lamented the situation, claiming many more
would die if more was not done to immediately end the conflict.

“Many more people are going to die in Palestine, in the occupied
Palestinian territory, for sure. This is not going to stop, and
genocidal intentions have to be addressed.

“I really fear for what the Palestinians are going to face, and I
also fear for the future of these two people. I feel for their
present, but I also fear for the future, for the Palestinians and
Israelis.”

INDEPENDENT EXPERTS

Special Rapporteurs and other independent rights experts are part of
the Special Procedures
[[link removed]] of
the Human Rights Council, work on a voluntary and unpaid basis, are
not UN staff, and work independent of any government or organisation.

* United Nations
[[link removed]]
* Israel-Palestine
[[link removed]]
* Gaza
[[link removed]]
* Human Rights
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]