Hamas hails UN report on Israel violations in Jerusalem 

Hamas yesterday praised an International Commission of Inquiry that was formed by the United Nations Human Rights Council after its latest report highlighted Israeli violations in occupied East Jerusalem.

The report said Palestinians were experiencing “forced displacement, threats of forced displacement, demolitions, settlement construction and expansion, settler violence” by the Israeli authorities, adding that the 15-year-old blockade on Gaza was a “contributing factor to recurring cycles of violence.”

It cites evidence saying Israel has “no intention of ending the occupation” and is pursuing “complete control” over what it calls the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which was taken by Israel in the 1967 war.

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“Ending the occupation alone will not be sufficient,” the report says, urging additional action to ensure the equal enjoyment of human rights.

Hamas described the  report as an “important step in documenting the crimes of the Israeli occupation,” calling on the UN and the international community “to act effectively to do justice for the Palestinian people by ending the occupation and holding its leaders accountable for their crimes and violations against the Palestinian people and global conventions.”

Palestinians will defend Al-Aqsa Mosque – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]