'Unprecedented set of war crimes' occurring in Gaza: UN rapporteur

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - An "unprecedented set of war crimes" are being committed by Israel in Gaza, the UN rapporteur on Palestinian territories said on Wednesday, saying there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that "genocide" is happening.

"After five months of monitoring and analyzing Israel's onslaught on Gaza, my report finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicates that Israel is committing the crime of genocide against the Palestinians," Francesca Albanese told a press briefing in Geneva.

Albanese, who presented her report to the Human Rights Council recently, said one of the key findings of her report is that Israel has "intentionally distorted" international humanitarian law "in an attempt to legitimize genocidal violence against the Palestinian people."

"It clearly doesn't work condemning Israel, and saying that Israel doesn't respect international law is not enough," she said.

Regarding her recommendations, the rapporteur said an arms embargo against Israel is a must. She also recommended the establishment of a protective and international presence - meaning people who are neither Israelis nor Palestinians and are outside of the conflict dynamic - that interposes itself between the Palestinians and Israeli settlers and army.

"I've been recommending the establishment of a protective presence for a long time now," she added.

Albanese stressed that any criticism against Israel was labeled as "anti-Semitism," calling it a very "dangerous" approach.

"Everyone who dares uttering a word of criticism against Israel accused of anti-Semitism," she said, adding: "This is so dangerous."

She underlined that she does not question the existence of the state of Israel."I say that Israel cannot behave as it does as an apartheid state, and face no consequences," she said.

Albanese said that she has been receiving threats since the very beginning of her mandate. But "it doesn't change either my commitment or the results of my work," she said.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Nearly 32,500 Palestinians have since been killed and 74,900 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The UN Security Council passed on Monday a resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. While Hamas welcomed the resolution, Israel rejected the call and vowed to continue its war on the Palestinian enclave.

The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while much of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Israel also stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.