The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Palestine Francesca Albanese has described the situation in the Gaza Strip as “extremely tragic and appalling” denouncing Israel’s continued bombings that target civilians and destroy homes and infrastructure.
In an interview conducted with her by Al Jazeera satellite channel Albanese denounced the international silence on Israel’s atrocious crimes in Gaza warning of an Israeli plan to expel the Palestinians in Gaza from their land under the guise of war as happened in 1948 and 1967.
Albanese accused Western countries of practicing double standards affirming that the Palestinian people are the main victims of such a policy.
Albanese said that more than 4000 Palestinians were killed and more than one million of them were forcibly displaced and 25 percent of housing units were destroyed in addition to the collapse of the health sector and the absence of other vital services such as water fuel and electricity
The UN official slammed the language used by Israeli politicians against the Palestinians such as saying that they were fighting human animals and that there were no civilians in Gaza describing such a behavior as &ldquotruly outrageous immoral illegal and unacceptable&rdquo calling on the international community to strongly condemn such Israeli remarks.
She also condemned the Israeli army for ordering the Gazan civilians in the north to evacuate to the southern areas of the Strip as &ldquounacceptable and illegal.&rdquo
She expressed her regret that the desire for vengeance blinded everyone including Western countries which she said should be even-handed ensure respect for international law and protect civilians.
She stressed the need for unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza releasing Palestinian and Israeli prisoners and initiating a new period of calm and peace.
