“The apartheid regime of Israel targets Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously, as part of an overall process of elimination, replacement and territorial expansion,” said United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
NEW YORK, Sept 4 (IPS) – An independent United Nations expert has warned that “Israel’s genocidal violence risks spilling over into society”. Gaza and in the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole, while Western governments, companiesand other institutions continue to support the Israeli military, which is accused of serious war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Francesca Albanesethe UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the illegally occupied Palestinian Territories, said in a statement on September 2 that “there is mounting evidence that no Palestinian is safe under Israel’s unfettered control.”
“It is clear that this is the case and we can no longer ignore it,” said Albanese, who released a detailed report report concluded in May that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza.
Albania’s new statement came after the Israeli army largest attack on the West Bank in decades continued into the second week. At least 29 Palestinians have been killed during the series of military raids, according to Al Jazeera, including at least five children.
“The apartheid regime of Israel targets Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously, as part of an overall process of elimination, replacement and territorial expansion,” Albanese said.
“The prolonged impunity granted to Israel makes possible the de-Palestinianization of the occupied territory, leaving the Palestinians at the mercy of the forces that seek to eliminate them as a national group.”
“The international community, comprising both states and non-state actors, including companies and financial institutions, must do everything in its power to immediately end the risk of genocide against the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation, ensure accountability and ultimately end Israel’s colonization of Palestinian land,” Albanese added.
Defense for Children International–Palestine noticed that “dozens of Israeli military vehicles” have “stormed” the West Bank city of Jenin over the past week, while “Israeli forces spread out across refugee camps, seized Palestinian homes to use as military bases and placed snipers on the roofs of buildings to subject residents to field searches.”
“The military bulldozers began destroying civilian infrastructure in Jenin city and the camp, leading to the destruction of key water networks and power outages in several neighborhoods in Jenin and surrounding villages,” the group said. “Israeli forces besieged several hospitals in Jenin, obstructing the movement of ambulances and paramedics.”
Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed more than 620 people in the occupied West Bank since October 7, adding to the approximately 40,800 killed by the Israeli army in Gaza.
Illegal Israeli land seizures have also risen in the West Bank as settlers and soldiers wipe out entire Palestinian communitiesThe . BBCreported that according to her own analysis, “there are currently at least 196 in the West Bank, with 29 established last year – more than in any previous year.”
Israel’s multi-day assault on the West Bank, which began last week, has fueled fears that there will be no solution. permanent ceasefirethe attack on Gaza could spread to the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories and to the entire Middle East.
David Hearst, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye, wrote that “even with the clear reluctance of Hezbollah and Iran to get involved, all the ingredients are there for a much bigger conflagration.”
“An Israel in the grip of an ultranationalist, religious, settler uprising; an American president who lets his most important ally ignore his signature policies, even at the risk of losing a crucial election; a resistance that will not surrender; Palestinians in Gaza who will not flee; Palestinians in the West Bank who are now stepping up to the front lines; Jordan, the second country to recognize Israel, that feels its very existence threatened,” Hearst wrote on September 2.
For US President Joe Biden or the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris“The message is so clear it lights up in neon: The costs to the region of not outmaneuvering Netanyahu could quickly outweigh the domestic benefits of being swept along by him.”
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said the same argued that “the US must reverse course, and do so drastically.”
“A long-awaited halt to U.S. arms to Israel and recognition of the Palestinian right to self-determination would be just the shock to the system that is needed,” Zogby wrote. “It would force an internal debate in Israel, and empower those who want peace. It could also serve to send a message to the Palestinian people that their plight and rights are understood.”
“These actions, especially if accompanied by determination and concrete steps, will not end the conflict tomorrow,” Zogby continued, “but they would certainly put the region on a more productive path to peace than the one it is currently on.”
Jake Johnson is editor-in-chief and staff writer for Common Dreams.
Source: Common dreams
IPS UN Office
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