UN chief calls for control for grave breaches in the Hamas-Israel war.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized on Thursday the claims of serious human rights breaches during the Hamas-Israel war and the need for all-encompassing responsibility.
Volker Turk said that “whoever commits these grave and repeated violations of international humanitarian law deserves a thorough investigation and full accountability.”
After a recent trip to the Middle East, the UN high commissioner for human rights chose not to name Israel or Hamas.
He did, however, voice concerns about war crimes that both sides in the conflict which has resulted in thousands of deaths have committed.
“Where national authorities prove unwilling or unable to carry out such investigations, and where there are contested narratives on particularly significant incidents, international investigation is called for,” he stated at a briefing for UN member states in Geneva, Switzerland.
Over 11,500 people have died as a result of Israel’s ongoing airstrikes and ground offensive in Gaza, mostly civilians, including thousands of children, according to the health ministry run by Hamas. Turk denounced the “conflagration of violence” that had been let loose.
Disastrous Harm
During a visit to the Egyptian border, he claimed to have spoken with people leaving Gaza and that “rarely have I heard such disturbing testimony about the catastrophic harm that ordinary people have endured.”
He emphasized on Thursday the pressing necessity for his department to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories in order “to ensure full and independent monitoring and documentation, and to coordinate protection work,” despite his inability to enter either country.
He said to reporters that he had “asked Israel to grant me access to the occupied Palestinian territory in addition to Israel.” I haven’t heard back from anyone yet,” he stated.
His request to visit Israel was later denied by the Israeli mission to the UN in Geneva, which informed AFP that it “did not see any added benefit of the high commissioner’s visit at this time.”
Turk had “clearly indicated that he had already made up his mind, and therefore (his office’s) dialogue would contribute little,” according to the Israeli mission during his visit to the area last week.
During Thursday’s briefing, Turk voiced concern over the “intensification of violence and severe discrimination against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
It’s a Massacre
Ibrahim Khraishi, the ambassador for Palestine, flatly rejected that viewpoint.
“This is the room where you should wake up. He declared, “This is a massacre, this is genocide,” and charged Israel with operating “above the law.”
“The issue began 75 years ago; it didn’t begin on October 7,” he stated.
He was backed by other countries, whose envoy from Jordan said that “Israel must cease its aggression.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador Michele Taylor lamented the deaths of Palestinians “due to the violence resulting from these attacks” and denounced the October 7 Hamas attack as “pure evil.”
