TUNISIA, Sunday, May 12, 2024 (WAFA) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, said that the Gaza Strip is experiencing a tragedy, citing Western countries' dismay over describing the situation in the Strip as "genocide".
During the opening of the two-day Palestine Maghreb-Mashreq Social Forum in Tunisia under the rubric of “Palestine is our future; the war of extermination on Gaza is a challenge to human and democratic values”, the UN Special Rapporteur described what is happening in Gaza as a tragedy, wondering: “How can we ignore what's happening in Gaza right now? This is a tragedy.”
She drew attention to the human rights violations being committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip, including the killing of over 35 thousand civilians, 15000 of whom are children, stressing that Israel aims to take revenge against all Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur called on the international community to act to stop the Israeli attacks, stating: "I can say without hesitation that what is happening in Gaza is not a war, but rather a genocide.”
There is a great deal of concern in Western countries about the use of the term genocide because the term genocide recalls the Holocaust. “So how could Israel [the Jews] who suffered the Holocaust commit genocide? This is inconceivable. But that's exactly what Israel is doing now.”
In her speech, the UN Rapporteur touched upon the protests held by people around the world against the Israeli attacks in Gaza, saying: "We must shore up student movements around the world.”
T.R.
