By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

According to Albanese, Israel’s actions have caused “irreparable damage” to the lives of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has stated that all investigations she has conducted over the past year provide conclusive evidence that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. 

Albanese made these remarks during a speech on Monday in the Spanish Parliament.

Speaking on “the role of the military embargo in peacebuilding processes,” her talk was part of a campaign organized by the Spanish Solidarity Network Against the Occupation of Palestine (RESCOP) organization to halt arms sales to Israel, aiming to prevent what she described as genocide against the Palestinian people.

Albanese highlighted that she has spent the past year “documenting the genocide committed by Israel in Palestine,” emphasizing that “there is no doubt that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, as well as intensive destruction operations.”

Mais uma vez Francesca Albanese, relatora especial da ONU para direitos humanos nos territórios palestinos ocupados, denuncia as práticas genocidas e coloniais do Estado de Israel, cujo governo agora ameaça anexar o norte da Faixa de Gaza. pic.twitter.com/XjOj3cmfjX

— Breno Altman (@brealt) November 17, 2024

She explained that her investigations, conducted in collaboration with 30 UN experts, along with a July decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), clearly affirm that Israel is committing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

The ICJ ruled on July 19 that the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a “single territorial unit” that must be protected and respected.

According to Albanese, Israel’s actions have caused “irreparable damage” to the lives of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. She stressed that adherence to ICJ decisions is mandatory for all UN member states and warned that continuing to trade arms with a state committing genocide constitutes a violation of the UN Charter.

The Special Rapporteur also addressed the Hamas operation on settlements and military bases near the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, stating that it “in no way justifies the genocide committed by Israel.” 

She argued that “imposing an arms embargo alone (on Israel) is not enough” and called for further measures, including “severing all military, academic, and diplomatic relations with Israel.”

In concluding her speech, Albanese underscored that Israel is perpetrating “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” particularly in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza. 

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.  

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,972 Palestinians have been killed, and 104,008 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

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Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety. 

(MEMO, PC)