Less than a week after the ceasefire concluded between Israel and Hamas, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council met on Thursday, May 27 in Geneva, for a session devoted to “The grave human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem”.
Seized of a request for an investigation by Pakistan as coordinator of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as by the Palestinian authorities, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, a declared:
“If the impact on civilians and civilian objects is found to be indiscriminate and disproportionate, this attack may constitute a war crime. “
While Michelle Bachelet believed that she had seen no evidence of the presence of armed groups or military action in the buildings targeted by Israel in Gaza, she also pointed out that the rocket fire launched by Hamas “Do not distinguish between military and civilian objects, and their use therefore constitutes a clear violation of international humanitarian law”.
In the clashes that took place from May 10 to 21, 254 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, including 66 children and fighters, according to local authorities. In Israel, rocket fire from Gaza killed 12 people, including a child, a teenage girl and a soldier, according to police.
A resolution on “all alleged violations of humanitarian law”
The investigation requested by Pakistan and the Palestinian authorities concerns “All alleged violations of international humanitarian law and all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law” in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel. The text calls for the commission to study “All the root causes of recurrent tensions (…), including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity ”.
It should focus on establishing the facts and collecting evidence and material that could be used in legal proceedings and, to the extent possible, identifying the culprits so that they can be tried.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki, who addressed the assembly online, accused Israel of instituting “An apartheid regime which is based on the oppression of the Palestinian people” and his “Forced displacement”. He also claimed ” the right [des Palestiniens] to resist the occupation ” and claimed that “The settlers must be put on the terrorist list”. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, for her part accused Hamas of having “Initiated this conflict” and assured that his country “Did everything to defuse tensions”.
French ambassador to Israel summoned after Le Drian’s remarks
In addition, the Israeli foreign ministry summoned the French ambassador to Israel on Thursday following remarks made by the head of French diplomacy.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian sent a warning on RTL on Sunday: “If by chance we had another solution than the two-state solution, then we would have the ingredients for an apartheid that would last a long time”, he had declared.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted this outing on Wednesday, seeing it as a “Hypocritical and deceptive moral lesson”. On Thursday, the head of Israeli diplomacy, Gabi Ashkenazi, therefore summoned the French ambassador to Israel, Eric Danon, and explained to him that Jean-Yves Le Drian’s remarks were “Unacceptable, unfounded and disconnected from reality”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gabi Ashkenazi, summoned to his cabinet, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs… https://t.co/BoFcges4jc
Israel said to wait ” of his friends [qu’ils ne s’expriment pas] irresponsibly, so as not to reinforce extremists and anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activities ” abroad, reported Lior Haiat, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
At the height of the clashes between Israel and Hamas, pro-Palestinian demonstrations bringing together several thousand people were organized in France, despite prefectural bans for fear of disturbing public order.
Our selection of articles on the escalation of Israeli-Palestinian violence
