UN rights expert deplores Israel decision to ban entry, cited war crimes in Gaza

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 16th Feb. UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese on Thursday said that that Israel’s decision to ban her from entering the country is nothing new and must not distract from atrocities being committed in Gaza Strip.

Francesca Albanese has a mandate from the Human Rights Council which includes investigating violations, undertaking regular visits or missions, and reporting on findings.

Israel Foreign Minister and Interior Minister announced that Ms. Albanese was prohibited from entering Israel after recent comments made online about the 7 October Hamas attacks that resulted in the current hostilities in Gaza.

Ms. Albanese said in a statement that “Since Israel’s 2008 detention and deportation of UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk, the State of Israel has prevented the entry of all UN Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Israel’s recent announcement to ‘officially ban’ my entry is therefore symbolic and misleading.”

“Israel’s announcement must not serve as a diversion from the situation in Gaza,” she said before listing some of the devastating toll of the current conflict, including 28,500 Palestinians killed, mainly women and children.

Ms. Albanese said “Israel claims that the ban follows my comments concerning the context in which Hamas’ attacks on 7 October took place. My comments were prompted by the French President’s description of the attacks as ‘the largest antisemitic massacre of our century’”.

“I have strongly and consistently condemned these heinous attacks as war crimes, which cannot be justified in any way, and for the fear and distress they have spread among Israelis”.

“I continue to express my sorrow and solidarity with the victims, including the hostages still held captive, and with Jewish communities worldwide. I also call for accountability for these crimes”.

She underlined unequivocal condemnation of the attacks, Ms. Albanese said that she “also felt compelled to challenge a persistent misinterpretation of the root causes in Western countries”, namely that they were primarily motivated by antisemitism.

Ms. Albanese added “As prominent Holocaust and antisemitism scholars have warned this assumption is both false and dangerous as it evades the critical underpinnings of the conflict and disavows the role of Israel in fuelling it,”.

“These scholars have recently argued that ‘appealing to the memory of the Holocaust obscures our understanding of the antisemitism Jews face today, and dangerously misrepresents the causes of violence in Israel-Palestine.’  So, while antisemitism could have played a role in the attacks at an individual level for some, their main determinants are to be found elsewhere.”

Ms. Albanese stressed that the context does matter.

She cited Secretary-General António Guterres who has stated that “It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”

She stressed that fundamentally, no crime ever justifies another.

“There is no justification for the horrific attacks of 7 October. However, the ‘56 years of suffocating occupation’ referred to the Secretary-General is the very context that fuels the hatred and violence that endangers Israelis and Palestinians alike. This context is obscured by the framing of 7 October as primarily driven by antisemitism,” she said.

Ms. Albanese noted that she has sought to establish formal relations with Israel since the early days of her mandate, added “unfortunately, Israel has responded with hostility and slander that is often amplified by politically aligned organizations and media.”

She recalled that as a UN Member State, Israel is obligated to respect international law and uphold the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter.

“Although a long and challenging endeavor, respecting international law and ending the system of apartheid that Israel imposes on the Palestinians is the only way to achieve lasting peace, human security and regional stability for no one can be safe until everyone is safe,” Ms. Albanese added

Ms. Albanese work as the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council, which is the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system.

They are appointed by the Council to monitor and report on either specific country situations or thematic issues globally.