Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on Palestine, said that what is happening in the West Bank is a true test of Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Palestinians, pointing out that the Israeli occupation has displaced 40,000 Palestinians from the West Bank in one single month.
Albanese warned in a joint press briefing alongside other UN special rapporteurs in Geneva that “the genocidal violence is leaking out in the West Bank,” saying the violence is now “as acute as ever.”
She told the briefing that even if the bombs and violence stop in Palestine today, “the genocide will continue because there are no ways to remedy the destruction” that has been made.
“I don’t know how many warnings the international community will need,” she said and added: “We will miss human rights very much where they are no longer able to protect us.”
She said that the current situation provides an important opportunity to unify the Arab voice in defense of the Palestinians, rather than just talking about rebuilding Gaza.
The UN rapporteur condemned the Israeli restrictions during the holy month of Ramadan, stressing that there is no justification for preventing Palestinians under the age of 55 from praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque. She stated that the Palestinians have tried to mobilize the international community by all means, both peacefully and through resistance.
She explained that countries such as South Africa, Spain, and Namibia have taken steps to respond to Israel’s actions, while the Arabs have taken no similar steps other than to try to prevent Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza.
