The United Nations’ special rapporteur on Palestine has warned that there is “not much time left” to save the Palestinian people as Israel continues its relentless onslaught on the Gaza Strip and its ongoing oppression in the West Bank.
Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on Palestine, speaking at a two-day conference in Pantin, a suburb of Paris, highlighted the Israeli regime's consistent violations of the ceasefire established in January, asserting that without intervention from the international community, Israel's war crimes will persist.
“Israel will not stop its actions,” Albanese stated, saying Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using the Gaza war to evade accountability for his violations of international law.
“I think I no longer have any hope in national justice at the Israeli level or the international level, because you see everyone saying they’re increasingly ready to roll out the red carpet for him,” she said.
She said several Western and European nations have welcomed Netanyahu, effectively ignoring an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The rapporteur also raised concerns about the Israeli regime’s expansionist ambitions, warning that there are plans to further annex Palestinian territories in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, effectively absorbing them into the Israeli regime.
Albanese described the current political climate—characterized by Europe's weakness and the United States' aggressiveness—as a “historic moment” for the Israeli regime, potentially paving the way for further annexation not only of Palestine but across the Middle East.
Albanese cautioned that Israel's brutal actions are not limited to Gaza, but extend to Lebanon and Syria, suggesting that the war could escalate further. “It would be crazy to think that Israel will stop here,” Albanese stated.
“It is clear that Israel wants the lands from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River in order to establish the sovereignty of the Jewish people; that’s what they say,” she said, citing Israeli ideology to establish sovereignty over lands and undermine Palestinian sovereignty.
Albanese urged the international community and global institutions to act urgently, emphasizing that “international law mandates us to end the occupation, halt genocide, and stop apartheid.”
However, she expressed skepticism about the political commitment of states to implement these crucial measures, asserting that the willingness to act "does not exist."
Israel resumed its campaign of genocide in Gaza on March 18 after a two-month truce and sent troops back into the blockaded Palestinian region. In the three weeks since, the health ministry in Gaza says Israeli military strikes have killed nearly 1,500 Palestinians and injured over 3,400 others.
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