&w=3840&q=100)
Israel calls on UN rights body to scrap Gaza war commission, citing 'institutional discrimination'
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks at the devastation caused in Kibbutz Niz Oz in the October 7 attack. X / @IsraeliPM_heb
Israel has formally urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to disband a commission investigating rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, accusing it of 'institutional discrimination'.
In a letter seen by Reuters, Israel's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, said The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, was biased in its approach and findings.
The commission has issued repeated condemnations of Israel's military actions in Gaza since the war began following Hamas's deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has regularly dismissed the body's reports, alleging prejudice and double standards.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
'The Commission of Inquiry, both in its mandate and in the work of its members, constitutes nothing less than a manifestation of the institutional discrimination against Israel in the Human Rights Council,' the letter stated.
The commission was created in May 2021 during a previous round of hostilities between Israel and Hamas. It is empowered to collect and preserve evidence that can be used in international legal proceedings, including at the International Criminal Court.
Council spokesperson Pascal Sim confirmed that the letter had been received by Council President Jurg Lauber. However, Sim clarified that Lauber does not have the authority to dismantle the commission. 'That would be up to the Council's 47 members,' Sim said.
In March, the commission accused Israel of having committed 'genocidal acts' against Palestinians. The report drew a furious response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who denounced the findings as biased and antisemitic.
Israel formally disengaged from the Human Rights Council in February.
With inputs from Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
15 minutes ago
- First Post
Trump will 'crush economy' of India, China, Brazil with tariffs over Russian oil import: US Senator
US Senator Lindsey Graham has warned that Trump is planning tough economic action against countries still importing oil from Russia, naming India, China, and Brazil as top targets. read more Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enter a hall for a family photo before a plenary session of the BRICS 2024 Summit in Kazan, Russia, October 23, 2024. File Image/Reuters US Senator Lindsey Graham has said that President Donald Trump is preparing to slap hefty tariffs on nations continuing to buy Russian oil, with India, China, and Brazil in the crosshairs. Speaking to Fox News, Graham stated that Trump intends to impose a 100 per cent tariff on oil-related imports from these countries in a bid to choke off revenue to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'Trump is going to impose tariffs on people that buy Russian oil – China, India, and Brazil,' Graham said, pointing out that these three nations are responsible for nearly 80 per cent of Russia's crude exports, which he claims are funding Moscow's war effort in Ukraine. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to Graham, the move is part of Trump's broader strategy to hold countries accountable for indirectly supporting Russia's war machine. 'President Trump's going to put a 100 per cent tariff on all those countries, punishing them for helping Putin,' he said. Graham said, 'You have played President Trump at your own peril. You made a major league mistake, and your economy is going to continue to be crushed. We're flowing weapons to Ukraine, so Ukraine will have the weapons to fight Putin back.' Senator Lindsey Graham accused Vladimir Putin of attempting to rebuild the Soviet empire by forcefully seizing neighboring nations. 'Putin is trying to reclaim countries that are not his,' Graham said, adding that the Russian leader has shown blatant disregard for international agreements. He pointed to Ukraine's decision in the mid-1990s to surrender over 1,700 nuclear weapons in exchange for security assurances, including a commitment from Russia to respect its sovereignty. 'Putin shattered that promise,' Graham noted, calling it a betrayal of the post-Cold War order.
NDTV
15 minutes ago
- NDTV
WHO Says Staff Residence, Warehouse "Attacked" In Gaza By Israeli Forces
The World Health Organization said Monday its facilities in Gaza had come under Israeli attack, echoing calls from Western countries for an immediate ceasefire as Israel expanded military operations to the central city of Deir el-Balah. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Israeli military had entered the UN agency's staff residence, forced women and children to evacuate on foot, and handcuffed, stripped and interrogated male staff at gunpoint. Earlier, more than two dozen Western countries called for an immediate end to the war, saying suffering there had "reached new depths". After more than 21 months of fighting that have triggered catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza's more than two million people, Israeli allies Britain, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the EU, said in a joint statement that the war "must end now". "The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths," the signatories added, urging a negotiated ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants and the free flow of much-needed aid. Tedros, who also condemned an attack on the WHO's main warehouse in Deir el-Balah, echoed that call: "A ceasefire is not just necessary, it is overdue," he said on X. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the countries' statement, saying any international pressure should be on Hamas, while US ambassador Mike Huckabee called the joint letter "disgusting". Key mediator Egypt, however, endorsed the message. The Western plea came with Deir el-Balah under intense shelling on Monday, after Israel's military the day before had ordered residents to leave, warning of imminent action in an area where it had not previously operated. Between 50,000 and 80,000 people were in the area when the evacuation order was issued, according to initial estimates from the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA. Deir el-Balah resident Abdullah Abu Saleem, 48, told AFP on Monday that "during the night, we heard huge and powerful explosions shaking the area as if it were an earthquake". He said this was "due to artillery shelling in the south-central part of Deir el-Balah and the southeastern area". "We are extremely worried and fearful that the army is planning a ground operation," he added. - 'Extremely critical' - In their statement, the Western countries also denounced Israel's aid delivery model in Gaza, saying it was "dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity". The UN has recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade. "We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food," the statement said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned through his spokesman the "accelerating breakdown of humanitarian conditions", noting "the growing reports of children and adults suffering from malnutrition". In Deir el-Balah, AFP images showed plumes of dark smoke billowing into the sky. The spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, Mahmud Bassal, told AFP it had "received calls from several families trapped in the Al-Baraka area of Deir el-Balah due to shelling by Israeli tanks". The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment. Since the start of the war, nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once by repeated Israeli evacuation orders. According to OCHA, the latest order means that 87.8 percent of the territory is now under evacuation orders or within Israeli militarised zones. Hamdi Abu Mughseeb, 50, told AFP that he and his family had fled northwards from their tent south of Deir el-Balah at dawn following a night of intense shelling. "There is no safe place anywhere in the Gaza Strip," he said. "I don't know where we can go." Mai Elawawda, communications officer in Gaza for the UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, said the situation was "extremely critical", describing shelling "all around our office." - 'Shocked and alarmed' - The families of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel said they were "shocked and alarmed" by reports of evacuation orders for parts of Deir el-Balah. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum demanded political and military authorities "clearly explain why the offensive in the Deir el-Balah area does not put the hostages at serious risk". Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Civil defence spokesman Bassal reported at least 15 people killed by Israeli forces across Gaza on Monday. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and other parties. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,029 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's 2023 attack, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
NDTV
30 minutes ago
- NDTV
Iran Says "Can't Give Up" Nuclear Program Despite "Serious Damage"
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News that Tehran cannot not give up on its uranium enrichment program which was severely damaged during the Israel-Iran war last month. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Prior to the war, Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks mediated by Oman but could not agree on the extent to which Iran should be allowed to enrich uranium. Israel and the United States say Iran was close to enriching to levels that would allow it to quickly produce a nuclear weapon, while Tehran says its enrichment program is for civilian purposes only. KEY QUOTES "It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride," the foreign minister told the Fox News show "Special Report with Bret Baier" in a clip aired on Monday. The foreign minister said the damage to the nuclear facilities in Iran after U.S. and Israeli strikes was serious and was being evaluated further. "Well, our facilities have been damaged, seriously damaged, the extent of which is now under evaluation by our atomic energy organization. But as far as I know, they are seriously damaged." CONTEXT U.S. ally Israel attacked Iran on June 13 and the Middle Eastern rivals then engaged in an air war for 12 days in which Washington also bombed Iran's nuclear facilities. A ceasefire was reached in late June. Iran is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while Israel is not. The U.N. nuclear watchdog says it has "no credible indication" of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran. Tehran maintains its nuclear program is solely meant for civilian purposes. Israel is the only Middle Eastern country believed to have nuclear weapons and said its war against Iran aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
