UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Sanctions on Israel

(MENAFN) The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, declared on Thursday that Israel is accountable for "one of the cruelest genocides in modern history."

She accused Tel Aviv of exploiting Gaza as a testing ground for weapons and urged comprehensive international measures, including a complete arms embargo and the halting of trade and investment relations.

Albanese described the circumstances in the occupied Palestinian territory as "apocalyptic" during her address to the Human Rights Council, where she introduced her most recent report.

She emphasized that Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure suffering that defies comprehension, reiterating that Israel bears responsibility for "one of the cruelest genocides in modern history."

According to Albanese, official statistics report over 200,000 Palestinians either killed or wounded, but leading medical professionals believe "the true toll is far higher."

She criticized Israel’s newly introduced aid program in Gaza, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, labeling it a "death trap – engineered to kill or force the flight of a starved, bombarded, emaciated population marked for."

She also underscored the financial benefits gained amid the conflict, pointing out that arms manufacturers have recorded "near-record profits" in the last 20 months by supplying Israel with weaponry used in the bombardment of Gaza.

"Arms companies have turned near-record profits by equipping Israel with cutting-edge weaponry to unleash 85,000 tons of explosives—six times the power of Hiroshima—to destroy Gaza," Albanese stated.

Her report further noted a "213%" surge on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since October 2023, highlighting a stark disparity: "One people enriched, one people erased."

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