UN special rapporteur calls for sanctions on Israel 

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, has called for sanctions to be imposed on Israel and for it to be held accountable for its crimes against Palestinians.

“At this point, Israel has reneged on its international obligations to a degree that warrants a call for sanctions,” Albanese said in a press statement yesterday following a visit to Jordan and Egypt.

The UN rapporteur reiterated her call for “an immediate ceasefire, an end to Israel’s illegal control of Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and a protective presence to ensure peace and stability in the region.”

“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,” she added, explaining that Israel has once again arbitrarily denied her access to the occupied Palestinian Territory, compelling her to report on the situation of Palestinians under occupation from neighbouring states.

Read: The international community sensationalises Israel genocide in Gaza

Albanese noted that the situation in Gaza is worse than previously assessed, with serious and multi-layered long-term implications, adding that most victims she met had endured catastrophic injuries, witnessed family members killed and experienced the effects of Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure, even after 26 January 2024, when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a ruling ordering Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza.

She indicated that the humanitarian measures applied so far, including airdrops and maritime corridors “are a mere palliative for what is desperately needed and legally due.”  “These measures are grossly inadequate to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe that Israel’s assault has created,” she said. She pointed out that the horrors witnessed by the people in Gaza are “unspeakable”.

She explained that due to the catastrophic situation in Gaza, attention to the worsening situation in the West Bank including East Jerusalem has lapsed, noting that increased restrictions and abuses, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings by Israeli occupation soldiers and armed settlers alike are widely reported.

“States must insist on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and impose sanctions on Israel to avoid further calamity,” the special rapporteur said.