UN Rapporteur says Israel is definitely committing genocide in Gaza

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has said that all of the investigations that she has conducted over the past year confirm conclusively that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Albanese made her comment in a speech on Monday in the Spanish parliament.

Speaking about “the role of the military embargo in peacebuilding processes”, the rapporteur’s talk was organised within the framework of a campaign launched by the RESCOP organisation to stop arms sales to Israel with the aim of preventing genocide against the Palestinian people.

Albanese pointed out that she has devoted the past year to “documenting the genocide committed by Israel in Palestine,” stressing that “there is no doubt that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, as well as intensive destruction operations.”

She noted that the investigations she conducted in cooperation with 30 UN experts, in addition to the decision by the International Court of Justice issued in July, confirm clearly that Israel is committing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories. The ICJ ruled on 19 July that the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a “single territorial unit” that must be protected and respected.

Albanese explained that the Israeli genocide “has left irreparable damage” to the lives of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. She stressed that compliance with the decisions of the ICJ is mandatory for all member states, and that continuing to trade arms with a state that is committing genocide is a violation of the UN Charter.

The UN official also emphasised that the Hamas attack on settlements and military bases adjacent to the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023 “in no way justifies the genocide committed by Israel,” adding that “imposing an arms embargo alone is not enough.” She called for the next step to be “severing all military, academic and diplomatic relations with Israel.”

The Special Rapporteur ended her speech by stressing that Israel is committing “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” especially in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Predictably, the occupation state and its supporters have called Ms Albanese “anti-Semitic” in an attempt to undermine her work. She has been defended against this allegation by Jewish organisations which have denounced the “relentless attack from politically motivated organisations.”

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