UN Special Rapporteur Accuses Israel of 'Genocide'

A UN expert on Tuesday, April 7, presented a report to the Human Rights Committee of this international body, accusing Israel of 'genocide' during its assault on the Gaza Strip and calling for immediate sanctions and an arms embargo against the country. Israel, which was not present at the meeting, rejected the UN expert's accusations. According to Reuters, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Palestinian territories, while presenting her report titled 'The Structuring of a Genocide,' stated that her duty was to report on 'the worst acts of humanity' and provide the results of her investigations. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights pointed out the 'killing of thousands of Palestinians' since the start of Israel's recent attack, and in part of her remarks said: 'I believe there is substantial basis for the belief that genocide against Palestinians as a group residing in Gaza has been committed.' Francesca Albanese urged the UN Human Rights Committee, saying: 'I urge member states to fulfill their commitments by imposing arms embargoes and other sanctions against Israel to ensure that this event does not recur in the future.' The Israeli diplomatic delegation stated that the aim of the country’s war is not Palestinian civilians but the Islamist group Hamas. Following Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israel, 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and 253 were taken hostage. The Israeli delegation added that the human rights rapporteur 'instead of seeking the truth, is attempting to present weak arguments through blatant inversion and distorted reality.' Francesca Albanese is one of several independent human rights experts appointed by the UN to report and provide advice on crises and special matters, and her views do not reflect the position of the UN Human Rights Committee. This is not the first time Israel has been accused of committing 'genocide' during the recent attack on Gaza. Recently, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula), the President of Brazil, accused Israel of committing 'genocide' against Palestinians. Previously, South Africa filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, accusing Israel of 'genocide' against Palestinians and comparing Israel's treatment of Palestinians in Gaza to the apartheid era in that country. Israel has strongly denied this accusation and claims that the Hamas militant group uses Palestinian civilians as human shields. The US Secretary of Defense stated to his Israeli counterpart that protecting Palestinian civilians is 'moral and necessary.' Netanyahu stated that Israel will not submit to Hamas's imaginary demands. Qatar noted that the Security Council resolution had 'no immediate impact' on ceasefire negotiations; Haniyeh arrived in Tehran. With rising tensions over the Gaza war, the US and Israeli defense ministers will meet.