Israeli bid to destroy Hamas unlawful, to fuel radicalization: Envoy
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The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories attributes the current situation to ignoring warnings about "Israel's" violation of Palestinian rights.
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Fire and smoke rise above residential buildings in Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on October 8, 2023 (AFP)
The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories has stated that "Israel's" attempt to "eradicate" Hamas in response to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood is likely to result in increased radicalization and is also considered unlawful, The Guardian reported.
Francesca Albanese, in an interview for The Guardian, expressed that the international community is facing the repercussions of not paying attention to the criticisms, including her own, regarding "Israel's systematic repression of Palestinian human rights."
“We raised the alarm in the international community, the human rights community, but no one has really listened,” Albanese said.
“Now it has reached a dangerous point of no return where the chances of peaceful coexistence have dropped vertically off a cliff. In fact, we are staring into an abyss,” she added.
"Originally Palestinian" was written on this child’s arm before she was bombed by Israel.#Gaza pic.twitter.com/OGuXbciI3K
— Maha Hussaini (@MahaGaza) November 7, 2023
She questioned "Israel" to reflect on what serves its "self-interest". “Half the infrastructure of Gaza has been destroyed. 9,000 people have been killed, 3,500 of them are reported to be children, over 1,000 of them are still under the rubble. How on earth is that going to lead to peace?,” she gushed.
Elsewhere in her remarks, Albanese expressed skepticism about the feasibility of "eliminating" Hamas, which she portrayed as not only a military force but also a political entity.
“Even if it was possible to eradicate Hamas, if [Israel] was to exterminate everyone, everyone, so not just the militants, but anyone who works for Hamas including service providers, even if that was possible, but Israel’s occupation remained in place, all the grievances would continue to grow and another resistance will emerge. It’s natural, it’s almost a law of physics. History confirms that,” she stated.
Here's why 'Israel' abhors Albanese
In her latest report as the UN special rapporteur, Albanese focused on children in the occupied territories and expressed concerns about the additional psychological harm they have suffered in the past month.
“When you see children there, a profound trauma has gone across their tiny bodies,” she said. “They can speak like adults, they speak of the rights, they speak of the world they know and the world they want. They live with fear, and their major fear is not to see their mother and father any more, either because they are killed or because the children themselves get killed," she said.
“The parents of these kids say that they’re scared because they see what it is like for them, that there are fewer alternatives to armed resistance. And it’s difficult to keep the kids away from that path because so many hopes have been destroyed. … When they resist peacefully, and use international law such as the International criminal court or the International court of justice, the international community has been deaf. People feel left with nothing and this is a huge responsibility for the international community to reflect upon,” she added.
Albanese expressed her concern that the room for voices advocating for peace was diminishing. She further believes that the term "settlements" is too mild to describe an unlawful action. She clarifies that she advocates not just for Palestinians but for human rights and justice.
It is worth noting that the Israeli government has called for her removal, characterizing her rhetoric as filled with hatred, "anti-Semitic, and representative of an anti-Israeli perspective." "Israel" has declined to collaborate with her, much like they did with her predecessors. She was appointed to a six-year term in 2022.
She contends that "Israel" cannot claim the "right to self-defense," according to the UN charter because the threat originates not from a nation but from a "military organization" within a region that "Israel" holds under military occupation.
While "Israel" rejects the idea that it has occupied Gaza since withdrawing its forces in 2005, the UN and other international organizations regard the occupation as ongoing, as "Israel" retains significant control over the territory by means of land, sea, and air.
Dr. Maisara Alrayyes has been under the rubble for 40 hours after his home in Gaza was flattened by an Israeli airstrike. The civil defense still couldn’t retrieve his body. pic.twitter.com/dk9WnNpg5N
— Maha Hussaini (@MahaGaza) November 7, 2023
She mentioned that even if "Israel" were to claim "a right to self-defense," the ongoing aggression on Gaza could not be legally justified.
“The attacks are clearly indiscriminate, disproportionate and violate the principle of precaution. One cannot bomb hospitals hosting hundreds of patients and sheltering thousands of refugees. Sorry, we need to look for another solution, and not to bomb hospitals. Absolutely not. This is criminal,” she concluded.
