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ISRAEL’S SYMBOLIC “BAN” MUST NOT DISTRACT FROM ATROCITY CRIMES
IN GAZA: UN EXPERT  
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Francesca Albanese
February 15, 2024
United Nations Human Rights Office
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_ Respecting international law and ending the system of apartheid
that Israel imposes on the Palestinians is the only way to achieve
lasting peace, human security and regional stability—for no one can
be safe until everybody is safe. _

RELATIVES OF PALESTINIANS KILLED IN ISRAELI ATTACKS, MOURN AS THEY
RECEIVE THEIR BODIES FROM THE MORGUE OF AL-AQSA HOSPITAL FOR BURIAL IN
DEIR EL-BALAH, GAZA ON FEBRUARY 15, 2023., (PHOTO: ALI HAMAD/APA
IMAGES)

 

GENEVA (15 February 2024) –_ The Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied
since 1967, Francesca Albanese, said today that Israel’s decision to
symbolically ban her entry is a distraction from atrocities being
committed in Gaza. She issued the following statement:_ 

“Since Israel’s 2008 detention and deportation of then UN Special
Rapporteur Richard Falk, the State of Israel has prevented the entry
of all UN Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in the
Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Israel’s recent
announcement to ‘officially ban’ my entry is therefore symbolic
and misleading. 

Israel’s announcement must not serve as a diversion from the
situation in Gaza, which Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has
qualified as ‘an assault that is unparalleled in its intensity,
brutality and scope’ and that the International Court of Justice has
said plausibly constitutes genocide. In just over four months, the
Israeli army has killed over 28,500 Palestinians in Gaza, 70% of them
women and children, while some 10,000 people are missing, presumed
dead under the rubble. Nearly 70,000 are injured, many maimed for
life, and some 1.7 million people–75% of the population—have been
displaced, while the entire civilian population is at risk of
starvation. Daily, relentless massacres, the latest ones inflicted in
the non-existent “safe zones” in Rafah, where over 1.4 million
Palestinians are struggling to survive, are being committed in
flagrant defiance of the provisional measures
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by the International Court of Justice. 

Israel claims that the ban follows my comments concerning the context
in which Hamas’ attacks on 7 October took place. My comments were
prompted by the French President’s description of the attacks as
‘the largest anti-Semitic massacre of our century’. I have
strongly and consistently condemned these heinous attacks as war
crimes, which cannot be justified in any way, and for the fear and
distress they have spread among Israelis. I continue to express my
sorrow and solidarity with the victims, including the hostages still
held captive, and with Jewish communities worldwide. I also call for
accountability for these crimes. 

While my condemnation of the attacks is unequivocal, I also felt
compelled to challenge a persistent misinterpretation of the root
causes of the 7 October attacks, particularly in Western countries:
that the attacks were primarily motivated by anti-Semitism. As
prominent Holocaust and anti-Semitism scholars have warned
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this assumption is both false and dangerous as it evades the critical
underpinnings of the conflict and disavows the role of Israel in
fuelling it. These scholars have recently argued that ‘appealing to
the memory of the Holocaust obscures our understanding of the
antisemitism Jews face today, and dangerously misrepresents the causes
of violence in Israel-Palestine.’ So, while anti-Semitism could
have played a role in the attacks at an individual level for some,
their main determinants are to be found elsewhere.  

Context does matter. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated:
‘It is important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not
happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56
years of suffocating occupation’. 

Fundamentally, no crime ever justifies another crime. There is no
justification for the horrific attacks of 7 October. However, the
‘56 years of suffocating occupation’ referred to by the
Secretary-General is the very context that fuels the hatred and
violence that endangers Israelis and Palestinians alike. This context
is obscured by the framing of 7 October as primarily driven by
anti-Semitism.  

In line with the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate
Holders, since the early days of my mandate, I have sought to
establish formal relations with the State of Israel that would enable
me to fulfil the task entrusted to me by the Human Rights Council.
Unfortunately, Israel has responded with hostility and slander that is
often amplified by politically aligned organisations and media. 

As a Member State of the United Nations, Israel is obligated to
respect international law and uphold the values of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter, which enshrine rights
and freedoms for all human beings. Regrettably, the Israeli government
consistently undermines the leading promoters and defenders of the
rule of law, humanitarian protection and human rights, including the
UN Secretary-General, the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms and
independent experts, UNRWA, OCHA and the International Court of
Justice.

The primacy of the rule of law forms the foundation of the United
Nations’ existence and mission—and Israel, like any other State,
is called upon to abide by these standards. This includes the
facilitation of my access to the territory it has occupied for 56
years.

Although a long and challenging endeavour, respecting international
law and ending the system of apartheid that Israel imposes on the
Palestinians is the only way to achieve lasting peace, human security
and regional stability—for no one can be safe until everyone is
safe.” 

_Ms. FRANCESCA ALBANESE was appointed the SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE
SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES OCCUPIED
SINCE 1967
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_Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the SPECIAL
PROCEDURES
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the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of
independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms.
Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights
experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either
specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the
world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are
not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are
independent of any government or organisation and serve in their
individual capacity. _

* international law
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* Human Rights
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* Israeli apartheid
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* Gaza
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* Occupied Territories
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