United Nations Human Rights Council launches inv …

The UN Human Rights Council has voted to open an investigation into possible human rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories following the recent escalation of war in the Gaza Strip. The resolution marked a milestone by granting an indefinite mandate to the commission of experts which will be in charge of the investigation and promote a study of “all the root causes of the recurring tensions”.

The resolution was approved by 24 votes in favor out of a total of 47 members of the Council, among which the favorable votes of Argentina, China and Russia, while countries like Brazil, Italy, Japan , France and the Netherlands abstained. The United States has withdrawn from the Council in Donald Trump’s administration and, for the time being, has participated as an overseer since the inauguration of Joe Biden.

Approval of investigation called “shameful move” by Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who blamed UN Human Rights Council to have an “anti-Israel” position.

The Hamas movement, which launched the attacks on May 10 after the threat of forced evictions of Palestinian citizens in Jerusalem, welcomed the opening of the investigation indefinitely, while the Palestinian Authority called “a step forward” for the protection of human rights. the Palestinians.

“If it turns out that the impact on civilians and civilian property was indiscriminate and disproportionate, this attack could constitute a war crime,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Rights had previously warned. of the man, Michelle Bachelet, at the opening of the extraordinary session.

“An old and systematic impunity”

The Human Rights Council document noted that the further escalation of the war in the Gaza Strip, the fourth recorded since 2008, is the result of “all efforts to achieve a just and peaceful solution” which have been undermined. for years. This is the first time that the Council has created a commission of inquiry with an unlimited mandate, unlike other commissions of inquiry, such as Syria, it must be renewed every year.

For this reason, the resolution calls on the international commission of experts to study “how discrimination and systematic repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity” threaten a possible solution to what has been described as “old and systematic impunity”.

The conflict between Israel and ruling Hamas in Gaza began with rocket fire by Hamas into Israeli territory, to which the country ruled by conservative Netanyahu responded by bombing Gaza.

The start of the Hamas attacks was triggered by clashes in the Mosque Plaza in Israel-occupied East Jerusalem, which erupted over the threat of eviction of Palestinian families from the eastern part of the city. , for the benefit of Israeli settlers.

Bachelet denounced the humanitarian consequences of the escalation of the war

During the special session of the Council, Bachelet underlined that the attacks had left “many deaths and injuries among civilians and caused destruction and material damage on a large scale to civilian objects”. “Despite Israel’s claims that many of these buildings housed armed groups or were used for military purposes, we have not seen any evidence in this regard,” Bachelet said.

“This escalation is directly linked to the protests and the backlash by the Israeli security forces,” the commissioner lamented, adding that Hamas rocket fire “is indiscriminate and does not distinguish between military and civilian targets. international humanitarian aid. “

The positions of Israel and Palestine

Between May 10 and May 21, 254 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attacks in Gaza, including 66 children and also activists. In Israel, rockets launched from the Gaza Strip killed 12 people.

The Council meeting was held at the request of Pakistan, which coordinates the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Palestinian authorities. The investigation will focus on collecting evidence and material that can be used in the initiation of legal proceedings and, to the extent possible, on identifying the culprits so that they can to be judged.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki attended the meeting remotely and accused Israel of establishing an “apartheid regime based on the oppression of the Palestinian people” and their “forced displacement”. He also defended the rights of the Palestinian people. The Palestinians to “resist the occupation” and said that “the settlers (Israelis) should be on the terrorist list”.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, accused Hamas of having started the conflict and assured that his country was doing everything possible to “reduce tensions”. The Israeli ambassador considered that this meeting shows that the institution is “anti-Israel”.