The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, stated on Wednesday that the current ceasefire in Gaza is insufficient to confront what she described as the “extermination” of the Palestinian people by the United States and Israel.
اضافة اعلان
Albanese, who is a UN-appointed commissioner but does not speak on behalf of the organization, said: “This is not a war, but extermination, as there is an intent to annihilate a people.”
Her remarks came as a fragile ceasefire is in effect in Gaza under a US-mediated agreement intended to end a two-year-long conflict, allow for the return of prisoners’ bodies, deliver additional humanitarian aid, and eventually support the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Albanese criticized the plan as “completely inadequate and not in accordance with international law”, emphasizing the need to “end the occupation, end the exploitation of Palestinian resources, and end colonialism.”
According to Agence France-Presse, several UN investigators and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, claims which Israel denies, describing them as “distorted and false” and accusing their proponents of anti-Semitism.
Albanese made her statements while in South Africa, which has filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of committing “extermination” in Gaza, as part of her participation in the annual Nelson Mandela lecture on October 25.
She has been under US sanctions since July due to her public criticisms of Israel.
Albanese is expected to submit her new report to the UN in the coming days, in which she will assert—according to a draft published on the UN website—that Western support for Israel in its war with Hamas “caps a long history of complicity.” (Agencies)
