The long human tragedy of the Nakba and Israel's settler colonial genocide – UN expert

NEW YORK  – While the wholesale destruction of Gaza continues unabated, other parts of the land have not been spared, said the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, demanding decisive international action to end the bloodshed and settler colonial genocide of the Palestinian people.

“The situation is worsening by the day. The pace and intensity of the Israeli violence and destruction has spread to the rest of the occupied territory, leaving no Palestinian safe under Israel’s unfettered control,” Albanese said.

“For over a year, I have pleaded to all concerned parties as well as States, particularly those with influence, to take concrete action to stop the destruction of the Palestinian people, to ensure the prompt and unconditional release of all hostages, both Israelis and Palestinians, and to ensure international law is respected.”

In her report to the General Assembly, Albanese said that Gaza has become a wasteland of rubble and human remains, with people barely holding on to life amid deprivation and disease, while battling with the deep, inherited trauma of the Nakba survivors.

“Communal bonds have been broken, the social fabric shredded, and reserves of resilience depleted,” she said.

Since 7 October 2023, at least 150,000 Palestinians have been killed, injured, maimed or are missing – most of them women and children. Entire families have been exterminated, generations erased, and babies left limbless before they could crawl.

The violence that Israel has unleashed against the Palestinians post-7 October is not happening in a vacuum, but is part of a long-term intentional, systematic and State-organised forced displacement, intended to erase the Palestinians from their own land and allow Israel to fully annex Palestinian territory. These plans are now expanding to Lebanon, Albanese said.

“Time is running out. A genocide and a man-made humanitarian catastrophe are unfolding in front of us and in Gaza. I regret to see so many member states are avoiding acknowledging the suffering of the Palestinian people and instead look away,” the expert said.

In light of the urgency of the situation and the real risk of irreparable harm to the Palestinian people, the expert called on the international community to ensure that Israel and third States adhere to their non-derogable obligations under the Genocide Convention, to prevent further loss of life, to immediately halt arms transfers to Israel, including export licenses and military aid, and to ensure full accountability under both individual criminal and State responsibility.