Mourners carry the body of veteran Al Jazeera Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh (Akleh), who was shot dead as she covered a raid on the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp on May 11, before it is transferred for burial from a hospital in Jenin. Picture: Jaafar Ashtiyeh AFP
Cape Town – The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday released its first report following an independent commission of inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel.
According to the report published on the organisation’s official website, the continued occupation by Israel of Palestinian land, the discrimination against the Palestinian people, as well as the forced displacement and demolitions are the key rot causes to the recurring tensions.
Chairperson of the commission Navanethem Pillay said the findings and recommendations relevant to the underlying root causes were overwhelmingly directed towards Israel.
“We found that these recommendations have overwhelmingly not been implemented, including calls to ensure accountability for Israel’s violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups into Israel,” said Pillay.
“It is this lack of implementation coupled with a sense of impunity, clear evidence that Israel has no intention of ending the occupation, and the persistent discrimination against Palestinians that lies at the heart of the systematic recurrence of violations in both the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel,” she added.
The commission was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council on May 27 last year to investigate the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel, all alleged violations of international humanitarian law and all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law leading up to and since April 13, 2021.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Miloon Kothari noted that their review of the findings and recommendations of previous UN mechanisms and bodies “clearly indicates that ending Israel’s occupation, in full conformity with Security Council resolutions, remains essential in stopping the persistent cycle of violence”.
“It is only with the ending of occupation that the world can begin to reverse historical injustices and move towards self-determination of the Palestinian peoples,” said Kothari.
Furthermore, the full report will be presented to the 50th session of the Human Rights Council on June 13 and will lay out that the commission will conduct investigations and legal analysis into alleged violations and abuses.
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