UN Rapporteur: Israeli occupation implicitly acknowledges that its soldiers committing war crimes in Gaza

WORLD, Jan. 17 (YPA) – Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has stated that the Israeli occupation has acknowledged that its soldiers have committed war crimes in Gaza by instructing them to “cover or blur their faces before posting videos” that could serve as evidence against them in international prosecutions.

Albanese also pointed out that the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza are unacceptable.

“Instead of advising its soldiers not to commit crimes, what (Israel) is saying is ‘cover your faces or blur your face before posting videos or try to get lawyers,'” Albanese told Anadolu, slamming the Israeli army’s approach as “shocking.”

في كلمة مبهرة تحت قبة الأمم المتحدة، فرانشيسكا ألبانيز: الأرض للفلسطيني ليست مجرد مكان، بل هوية.. الفلسطينيون هُجروا منذ 1947 ومورست عليهم كل أشكال الاضطهاد، وما يتعرضون له اليوم أقسى بسبب تكنولوجيا القتل والإفلات المستمر من العقاب. هذه أول إبادة جماعية يُحاكم مقترفوها في تاريخ… pic.twitter.com/7qbpS7vKWU

— مجلة ميم.. مِرآتنا (@Meemmag) January 5, 2025

“This is first of all an admission that crimes might be committed by Israeli soldiers,” she added.

“Universal jurisdiction is a powerful tool to bring justice where everywhere, everything else has failed,” said Albanese.

“And it’s still retributive justice is necessary because it gives a signal to those who exercise power and force that they are not immune from the application of the law.”

Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that allows states or international organizations to prosecute individuals for serious crimes, such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, regardless of where the crime was committed.

The UN Special Rapporteur said the Israeli occupation  violated non-derogable rules of international laws, including prohibition of aggression, annexation of territory by force, imposing a regime of racial discrimination, apartheid, torture and genocide.

Pointing out the talk of an expanding “Greater Israel” among Israeli leaders and figures in society, she warned Arab nations and neighbouring states in the region.

“Now they are openly talking of southern Lebanon belonging to them and part of Syria, looking into Jordan,” Albanese said.

“(This hubris) will stop where the international community draws a line,” she highlighted.

“Go back to where you belong, because we recognise the state of Israel and this is it. You cannot exercise self-determination on land inhabited by others.”

Albanese stated that, in 1947-1949, Palestine effectively ceased to exist for non-Jewish Palestinians -both Christian and Muslim – whose land and homes were seized, leaving most of them as refugees.

She said Israel pushed the limits of permissibility, not under international law, but within its broad exclusivism, allowed by the international community.

“Impunity breeds impunity and it’s a very contagious disease,” she underlined.

@E.Y.M