UN report on Gaza

UN rapporteur’s report deeply shocking

December 2024

Amnesty International hosted a webinar on 3 December in which the UN Rapporteur on the occupied Palestine territories Francesca Albanese, discussed her report on the area. The report sets out in excruciating detail the extent of destruction in both Gaza and the West Bank and concludes that the extent and comprehensive nature of the destruction amounts to genocide. Parts of the report are distressing to read and anyone accessing it should be aware of the distress it might cause.

The prevailing narrative that much of the Western media have followed, directly or implicitly, is that the current conflict in Gaza is a direct response to the attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023. The IDF is engaged in defensive actions to locate and destroy Hamas operatives and the tunnel network from which they operate. The destruction of hospitals, schools and a host of other buildings is because these buildings are being used by Hamas as covers for their terrorist activities. The thousands of Gazans killed is because they are being used as human shields by Hamas. Little evidence has been provided of this. Thus Israel is acting in a reasonable way to protect its territorial integrity against a ruthless terrorist organisation bent on destroying the state. This is the narrative that Israel has deployed with considerable success. Many believe that if the remaining hostages were released, hostilities would cease and Gaza could return to some kind of normality.

The UN report debunks this narrative comprehensively. It reveals that there are solid grounds for believing that Israel’s intention, as revealed in a leaked Ministry of Intelligence concept paper in October 2023, was to drive all the Gazans out of the territory into the Sinai desert.

There has always been an intention for a Greater Israel (Eretz Yisrael). It is indeed ironic that one of the criticisms of Hamas contained in the disputed phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ to mean driving all the Jews out of Israel from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean, is precisely what Israel is trying to do to the Palestinians.

Descriptions of how Palestinians have been treated are horrific. Around 13,000 thousand children and 700 babies have died many shot in the head or torso (paragraph 14). There have been systematic attacks on food supplies and agriculture which ‘indicate an intent to destroy its population through starvation’ (20). 83% of food aid has been prevented from reaching Gaza.

Unreported, and truly shocking, is the network of Israeli torture camps where thousands have been detained in appalling conditions and many just ‘disappeared’. Many are bound to beds, blindfolded and in nappies (diapers), denied medical treatment, starved, subject to severe beatings, electrocution, and sexual assaults by both humans and animals (22).

West Bank

Violence in the West Bank has increased markedly. Israeli soldiers have carried out over 5,500 raids and conducted over 1,000 attacks. Children have been killed with 169 shot in the head or torso (27). Settler numbers have increased from 256,400 to 714,600 post the Oslo Accords. There has been a campaign of mass arrests and 9,400 are currently detained.

One of the most telling statements in the report is: The cultivation of a political doctrine that frames Palestinian assertions of self-determination as a security threat to Israel has served to legitimize permanent occupation. The deliberate dehumanization of the Palestinians has accompanied systematic ethnic purges from the period 1947–1949 to today. Ideological hatred of Palestinians as such has pervaded segments of society and the Israeli State apparatus (57).

Albanese in her talk said that land is central to Palestinian identity. It is being systematically being removed from them. The central issue is colonialism she says and Britain played a key part in this. She makes the point that Palestinians had nothing to do with the Holocaust but are today suffering from its aftermath.

Journalists are not allowed into Gaza and the UN rapporteur was not allowed in either.

Israel has successfully persuaded Western leaders and much of the media that their actions are somehow a response to violence. They have also been successful in selling the idea that it all started with the attacks of October 7th. Western leaders have gone along with this narrative, giving Israel support both diplomatic and military, enabling them to continue and now intensify their activities in Gaza and the West Bank. In reality, there has long been a plan to create a Greater Israel and finally to dispose of the Palestinian population by a combination of violence, destruction, starvation and genocide. Critics are demonised as ‘anti Israel’ or ‘anti-Semitic’ which has served them well to silence or inhibit them.

In an interesting discussion on YouTube the point was made by one speaker that the word ‘context’ is banned by some media organisations. Guidance to New York Times journalists shows the extent of censorship when it comes to the coverage with a wide range of words they are discouraged from using.

Gaza has exposed multiple weaknesses in the world order. History will judge our leaders harshly for their supine approach to Israel and their pusillanimous support for the Palestinians.

The Vigil will be held on Saturday at 5pm in the Market Square in Salisbury and lasts 30 minutes. Please join us.

Piece edited after posting.

#HumanRights_ #Gaza #Hamas #Israel #Palestine #UN_ #vigil #ישראל

UN publishes six month report on the conflict in Gaza

November 2024

The UN Human Rights chief said that there has to be a “due reckoning” for the horrific violations, possible atrocity crimes in Gaza. The report is critical of both Hamas and Israel for their actions although the bulk of the criticisms are directed at Israel and the IDF. The report covers the period 1 November 2023 to 30 April this year so does not include more recent events.

It notes that Palestinian armed groups had committed serious violations of international law on a wide scale, including attacks directed against civilians, killing and mistreatment of civilians, destruction of civilian objects, and taking of hostages, which amount to war crimes. These relate to the initial attack on 7 October 2023.

Many defenders of Israel’s actions have focused on the October attack as the start of the current conflict. The UN says that “it is also important to note the longstanding human rights impacts of 57 years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory in Gaza10 and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and a strangulating 17-year blockade and closure of Gaza”. Gaza was effectively an open air prison during these years with limited access to the outside world. There is no port or airport and the territory is surrounded by checkpoints.

There are arguments about the death toll with claims by Israel spokesmen and women that the statistics cannot be believed as they are produced by Hamas. The report is dated of course but the reported death toll is now around 43,000. Even in the first six months, the UN observes that thousands of bodies are unaccounted for. The quoted figures are likely to be very much an underestimate. Grim footage on Channel 4 news (8 November) shows attempts to collect body parts after a raid. The report analyses the death toll and an alarming graphic shows that the highest death toll is in the 5 – 9 year cohort with the next highest 10 – 14 (Paragraph 14).

A doctor working for MSF is quoted as saying “the scale of destruction in Gaza is unprecedented. The sheer amount of ordinance dropped dropped in such a small area is staggering. […] I have worked in many wars but Gaza has changed me. It’s not just another conflict zone; it’s a place where the very essence of humanity is under siege”. (MSF newsletter, November 2024). Byline Times reports that 70,000 tons of munitions have been dropped on Gaza, the rough equivalent of of the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined (November 2024 Eyeless in Gaza p41)

It’s a place where the very essence of humanity is under siege

An alarming claim is evidence of the use of white phosphorous on six occasions. This dreadful weapon causes immense harm and suffering. White phosphorus is an incendiary chemical that can cause particularly horrific and painful injuries, including extensive and life-threatening burns on human tissue and other debilitating health effects that can last a lifetime or lead to a slow and painful death. As a remnant of war, white phosphorus has a particularly severe environmental impact, leaking into water and sediments and risking further damage to Gaza’s water, food and the environment. So far as we are aware, this has not been reported on in the British media.

Further aspects comment on the killing of journalists in addition to preventing foreign journalists from entering the area. More journalists have died in this area than in any other. This means independent testimony and justification of both sides claims hard to verify.

Throughout the conflict, Israel has justified the bombing and destruction of huge swathes of Gaza by claiming that Hamas are using civilians, hospitals and schools as ‘human shields’. This justification has been repeatedly used by Israeli spokespeople. The UN says that evidence of this activity has not been provided. After over a year of the hostilities, one would have expected evidence of this oft repeated claim to have emerged.

The ‘Generals’ Plan’ is to clear all residents of northern Gaza and Haaretz reports that no Palestinians will be allowed to return, a confirmation of the plan. The question is whether the killings constitute genocide under article II (a) and (c) of the Genocide Convention.

We have attempted to provide a response to the UN’s report but none has so far appeared on outlets such as Haaretz and the Israel Foreign Affairs site [accessed 9 November]. This latter contains an item about the violence in Amsterdam but no reference to the UN report. The Ambassador to the UK was interviewed on the BBC World at One programme on 8 November and simply disputed the figures by both Hamas and the UN. [If a response to the UN report by Israel becomes available this post may be amended].

The report provides a grim account – made worse by subsequent events – of indiscriminate attacks on a wide range of infrastructure, the limitation of food and medical equipment allowed into the area, together with reductions of water and other essential services. Israel is able to continue the violence at a wholly disproportionate level with the aid of western countries which provide both diplomatic cover and the supply of arms. Sir Keir Starmer, then leader of the opposition, stated in an interview on LBC in October last year that ‘Israel had a right to cut power and water to the territory’ one of the more disgraceful comments by a political leader. In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle he also declared that criticisms of the Israeli government policy of apartheid was ‘no part of Labour party policy’. The UK continues to supply arms and intelligence from Cyprus. Declassified notes that 13 out of the 25 Labour cabinet receive funding from Israeli lobbyists. Israel’s banning of journalists from entering the area combined with feeble reporting has played a part in enabling this tragedy to continue.

https://salisburyai.com/2024/11/09/gaza-un-publishes-grim-report/

#HumanRights_ #Gaza #Israel #Palestine #UN_

Palestinians have repeatedly paid with their lives, bodies, and land for Israeli impunity which is based on the unconditional backing provided by the US and its European allies

[https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/11/22/israel-has-been-above-international-law-ever-since-its-inception/]

November 22, 2023 by Abdul Rahman
[https://peoplesdispatch.org/author/abdul-rahman/]

After failing several times, the members of the UN Security Council were able to reach a compromise and adopt a resolution on November 15, almost 40 days after the Israeli war began on October 7, demanding “urgent and extended” humanitarian “pauses” in Gaza: https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15496.doc.htm

However, as was expected, Israel refused to implement it. Instead it negotiated a deal with Palestinian resistance movement Hamas under Qatar’s mediation and agreed to halt its offensives in Gaza for four days in exchange of hostages.

Israel’s refusal to implement the UN resolution is in line with its record in the last seven decades of completely disregarding the international laws and undermining the mandate of multilateral global institutions.

In Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza since October 7, over 14,100 Palestinians have been killed and more than 30,000 have been injured. Most of the killed, over 70% of them are children, women, and elderly.

The indiscriminate bombing of the besieged Palestinian territory has destroyed almost all of its civilian infrastructure, including the hospitals and water supply, and displaced over 70% of its population.

Weeks before the Security Council adopted a limited and partial resolution, on October 27, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Despite the fact that over 120 countries voted in favor of the resolution, Israel’s reaction to it was an arrogant dismissal.

Israeli representative to the UN Gilad Erdan questioned the legitimacy of the global body and referred to the day of resolution’s adoption as a “dark day” in history. He openly vowed that Israel would continue its bombing operations in Gaza despite the resolution asking otherwise: https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15496.doc.htm

UN resolutions on the Israeli occupation

Ever since November 29, 1947 when it adopted its infamous partition resolution, calling for the establishment of the state of Israel, UN bodies have adopted hundreds of other resolutions focusing on the right to self determination and other rights of the Palestinian people: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-185393/

In 1948 after the Nakba, when over 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes, villages, and farms, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 194 (III) establishing the right of all Palestinian refugees to return: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/IP%20ARES%20194.pdf

One of the architects of this resolution was the UN-appointed mediator Count Folke Bernadotte. He was assassinated by the Zionist militia shortly before the resolution was adopted in December 1948. The newly formed Israeli state let go of all the major accused in his assassination: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230917-remembering-the-assassination-of-count-bernadotte/

The landmark UN Security Council Resolution 242 was adopted on 22 November 1967 asking Israel to withdraw its forces from the territories it occupied during the so-called June war: https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/SCRes242%281967%29.pdf

Israel remains the occupier of the Palestinian territories, namely West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza and Syrian Golan till date.

Israel went ahead and illegally annexed occupied East Jerusalem and Golan in 1980 and 1981 respectively and built illegal settlements and other permanent structures in all these territories.

In 1973, after another war with Arab states, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 338 on October 22. Apart from asking for immediate ceasefire in the war, the UNSC also reiterated its Resolution 242 adopted in 1967 demanding complete Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories.

A year later, in 1974, the UN General Assembly adopted yet another Resolution 3236 (XXIX) which reaffirmed the inalienable rights of Palestinian people to self determination, their national independence and sovereignty, and the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and properties: https://www.un.org/unispal/data-collection/general-assembly/#:~:text=In%201974%2C%20the%20question%20of,to%20their%20homes%20and%20property.

In the context of the ongoing Madrid peace conference in 1994 the General Assembly adopted another resolution (49/132) calling all Israeli settlements inside the occupied Palestinian territories as illegal and an obstacle to social and economic development of the Palestinians: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-186775/

Israel refused to take note of the resolution and despite signing a peace accord with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Oslo affirming a “two-state solution,” continued to expand the number of illegal settlements inside the Palestinian territories.

Israel refused to abide by the 2003 General Assembly Resolution 10/13 which called its construction of a separation wall, known as apartheid wall in the occupied West Bank, as illegal and a violation of existing international law: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-178128/

The General Assembly has taken up the issue of Israeli blockade of Gaza several times in its resolutions since 2006 when it was first imposed. The UN resolutions call the need of adequate and constant supply of essentials as basic needs of all Palestinians and note the deleterious effects of the blockade on Palestinians in Gaza: https://www.unicef.org/mena/documents/gaza-strip-humanitarian-impact-15-years-blockade-june-2022

Israeli violation of UN resolutions has been the norm

Ever since its formation in May 1948, Israel has not followed any of the UN resolutions on Palestine and the occupied territories, whether passed by the General Assembly or the Security Council.

The resolutions passed by the General Assembly are non-enforceable whereas the resolutions passed by the Security Council are legally binding. Countries can face repercussions if they fail to abide by the resolutions in the form of sanctions or even actual armed interventions.

However, the innumerable resolutions recognizing Palestinian right to self-determination and the humanitarian situation in occupied territories have been completely neglected: https://www.un.org/unispal/document-category/resolution/

Despite the fact that most of these resolutions identify Israel as an occupying power and admonishes it for violating Palestinian rights. it escapes penalties.

The UN has failed to take any step to make sure its resolutions are implemented by Israel.

The failure of the UN should be attributed to veto holding countries such as the US, France, and the UK standing behind Israel providing it the impunity to commit grave violations of the international laws without fear of any repercussions.

__________________________

the same article, with embedded links:

After failing several times, the members of the UN Security Council were able to reach a compromise and adopt a resolution on November 15, almost 40 days after the Israeli war began on October 7, demanding “urgent and extended” humanitarian “pauses” in Gaza.

However, as was expected, Israel refused to implement it. Instead it negotiated a deal with Palestinian resistance movement Hamas under Qatar’s mediation and agreed to halt its offensives in Gaza for four days in exchange of hostages.

Israel’s refusal to implement the UN resolution is in line with its record in the last seven decades of completely disregarding the international laws and undermining the mandate of multilateral global institutions.

In Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza since October 7, over 14,100 Palestinians have been killed and more than 30,000 have been injured. Most of the killed, over 70% of them are children, women, and elderly.

The indiscriminate bombing of the besieged Palestinian territory has destroyed almost all of its civilian infrastructure, including the hospitals and water supply, and displaced over 70% of its population.

Weeks before the Security Council adopted a limited and partial resolution, on October 27, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Despite the fact that over 120 countries voted in favor of the resolution, Israel’s reaction to it was an arrogant dismissal.

Israeli representative to the UN Gilad Erdan questioned the legitimacy of the global body and referred to the day of resolution’s adoption as a “dark day” in history. He openly vowed that Israel would continue its bombing operations in Gaza despite the resolution asking otherwise.

UN resolutions on the Israeli occupation

Ever since November 29, 1947 when it adopted its infamous partition resolution, calling for the establishment of the state of Israel, UN bodies have adopted hundreds of other resolutions focusing on the right to self determination and other rights of the Palestinian people.

In 1948 after the Nakba, when over 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes, villages, and farms, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 194 (III) establishing the right of all Palestinian refugees to return.

One of the architects of this resolution was the UN-appointed mediator Count Folke Bernadotte. He was assassinated by the Zionist militia shortly before the resolution was adopted in December 1948. The newly formed Israeli state let go of all the major accused in his assassination.

The landmark UN Security Council Resolution 242 was adopted on 22 November 1967 asking Israel to withdraw its forces from the territories it occupied during the so-called June war.

Israel remains the occupier of the Palestinian territories, namely West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza and Syrian Golan till date.

Israel went ahead and illegally annexed occupied East Jerusalem and Golan in 1980 and 1981 respectively and built illegal settlements and other permanent structures in all these territories.

In 1973, after another war with Arab states, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 338 on October 22. Apart from asking for immediate ceasefire in the war, the UNSC also reiterated its Resolution 242 adopted in 1967 demanding complete Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories.

A year later, in 1974, the UN General Assembly adopted yet another Resolution 3236 (XXIX) which reaffirmed the inalienable rights of Palestinian people to self determination, their national independence and sovereignty, and the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and properties.

In the context of the ongoing Madrid peace conference in 1994 the General Assembly adopted another resolution (49/132) calling all Israeli settlements inside the occupied Palestinian territories as illegal and an obstacle to social and economic development of the Palestinians.

Israel refused to take note of the resolution and despite signing a peace accord with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Oslo affirming a “two-state solution,” continued to expand the number of illegal settlements inside the Palestinian territories.

Israel refused to abide by the 2003 General Assembly Resolution 10/13 which called its construction of a separation wall, known as apartheid wall in the occupied West Bank, as illegal and a violation of existing international law.

The General Assembly has taken up the issue of Israeli blockade of Gaza several times in its resolutions since 2006 when it was first imposed. The UN resolutions call the need of adequate and constant supply of essentials as basic needs of all Palestinians and note the deleterious effects of the blockade on Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli violation of UN resolutions has been the norm

Ever since its formation in May 1948, Israel has not followed any of the UN resolutions on Palestine and the occupied territories, whether passed by the General Assembly or the Security Council.

The resolutions passed by the General Assembly are non-enforceable whereas the resolutions passed by the Security Council are legally binding. Countries can face repercussions if they fail to abide by the resolutions in the form of sanctions or even actual armed interventions.

However, the innumerable resolutions recognizing Palestinian right to self-determination and the humanitarian situation in occupied territories have been completely neglected.

Despite the fact that most of these resolutions identify Israel as an occupying power and admonishes it for violating Palestinian rights. it escapes penalties.

The UN has failed to take any step to make sure its resolutions are implemented by Israel.

The failure of the UN should be attributed to veto holding countries such as the US, France, and the UK standing behind Israel providing it the impunity to commit grave violations of the international laws without fear of any repercussions.

https://slowforward.net/2024/10/24/abdul-rahmans-article-nov-22nd-2023-israel-has-been-above-international-law-ever-since-its-inception/

#000000 #AbdulRahman #bombardments #ceasefire #Cisgiordania #CountFolkeBernadotte #EastJerusalem #FolkeBernadotte #Gaza #genocide #genocidio #GiladErdan #Golan #Hamas #hospitals #hostages #humanitarianPause #illegalOccupation #illegalSettlements #illegalZionistSettlements #indiscriminateBombing #Israel #izrahell #MadridPeaceConference #Nakba #October7 #OLP #Onu #Palestina #Palestine #PalestinianLiberationOrganization #PalestinianRefugees #pause #peoplesdispatch #PLO #refugees #rightOfPalestiniansToReturnToTheirHomes #rightToReturn #SecurityCouncil #sionismo #sionisti #SyrianGolan #UN_ #UNResolutions #UN #UNGeneralAssembly #UNResolution #UNSecurityCouncil #WestBank #zionism #ZionistMilitia #zionists