The Australian / AFP | 20 January 2024
Madrid: Israel has broken international law with its “relentless” bombing of Gaza that has levelled neighbourhoods and killed thousands of Palestinians, a UN rights expert said on Thursday.
The comments by Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer who is the UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, came as Israel confronts a case brought by South Africa to the UN’s International Court of Justice accusing it of genocide.
“Israel has done a number of things that are highly illegal, highly unlawful,” Ms Albanese said in Madrid. While Israel has the right to self-defence, international humanitarian law must be respected “to protect people who are not actively involved in combat. Civilians, prisoners of war and the sick and wounded”.
This meant distinguishing between combatants and civilians and ensuring military attacks were proportionate to avoid excessive harm to civilians, she said.
“Instead what has happened is over 100 days of relentless bombing – the first two weeks using 6000 bombs per week, bombs of 2000 pounds, in highly crowded areas,” she said.
Ms Albanese said she “firmly condemned” the violence carried out by Hamas on October 7, which she said amounted to war crimes and may also be crimes against humanity, but “nothing justifies what Israel has done”.
South Africa took its case to the International Court of Justice last week, but Israel has fiercely resisted it with support from the US and other allies.
