Beyza Binnur Donmez
25 April 2024•Update: 25 April 2024
GENEVA
Testimonies from the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) show that "no Palestinian is safe" under Israel's control, the UN special rapporteur on Palestine said on Thursday.
"The pace and intensity with which this violence has spread to the rest of the occupied territory confirms that no Palestinian is safe under Israel’s unfettered control," Francesca Albanese said in a statement after concluding a visit to Egypt and Jordan.
Albanese stressed that patients from Gaza, arriving in Egypt with exclusive and war injuries, are now joined by chronically ill and/or malnourished patients, especially children.
"Humanitarian measures implemented so far - airdrops and maritime corridors - are a mere palliative for what is desperately needed and legally due," she said. "These measures are grossly inadequate to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe that Israel’s assault has created."
Israel has waged a military onslaught on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas cross-border incursion that claimed 1,200 lives. More than 34,000 Palestinians have since been killed, and many more wounded. The war has also led to internal displacement, massive destruction and conditions of famine in the enclave.
The UN official noted that her visit confirmed how critical UNRWA's mandate is to Palestinians and people across the region.
But this visit also put attention on the worsening situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, she said, and warned: "Israeli policies spanning the occupied Palestinian territory are unquestionably endangering Palestinian existence on their land."
"The focus of the international community must zero in on the most likely implication - the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians – and States must do everything in their power to prevent it," she added.
Tensions have also been high across the occupied West Bank since last October, as raids and attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers have increased manifold.
The rapporteur urged states to insist on an immediate and unconditional cease-fire and impose sanctions on Israel to avoid further "calamity."
"At this point, Israel has reneged on its international obligations to a degree that warrants a call for sanctions," Albanese said.
