By Aysu Bicer
LONDON (AA) - The UN special rapporteur for Palestinians issued a scathing rebuke against Israel on Monday for denying her entry to the country, saying it is the latest instance of barring UN special rapporteurs since 2008 and an attempt to deflect attention from the escalation of atrocities in Gaza.
Francesca Albanese’s statement came amid reports of intensified violence in Gaza, particularly in the southern city of Rafah, where civilians have sought refuge in supposedly safe areas, only to come under devastating bombings.
"Israel's denying me entry is not news: Israel has denied entry to all special rapporteurs/oPt since 2008! This must not become a distraction from Israel's atrocities in Gaza, which are taking (on) a new level of horror with the bombing of people in 'safe areas' in Rafah," she said on X.
Supporting Albanese, former UN official and human rights activist Craig Mokhiber said on X: "The endless attacks against human rights defender Francesca Albanese, the UN’s brave & principled Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestine, are both transparent and annoying. Shame on those who 'shoot the messenger' to distract the world from Israel’s crimes. It won’t work."
Israeli has warned of a ground offensive in Rafah, home to more than 1 million people seeking refuge from the war, to defeat what Israel says are the remaining "Hamas battalions."
The planned offensive has triggered concerns of a humanitarian catastrophe in Rafah.
Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah as Israel pounded the rest of the enclave since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 28,000 people and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.