TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United Nations special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, said on Thursday that Israel's bombardment in the Gaza Strip, which has caused extreme suffering to the Palestinian people, is one of the cruelest genocides in modern history.
"The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is apocalyptic. In Gaza, Palestinians continue to endure suffering beyond imagination. Israel is responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history," said Albanese during the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
According to her, leading health experts estimate a "far higher" toll than that of the official figures, which count over 200,000 Palestinians in Gaza killed or injured.
In the West Bank, Palestinians remain facing the largest wave of forced displacement since 1967. Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, 10,000 injured, and 10,000 detained, and many of them have been tortured, according to Albanese.
"I once thought the problem was ignorance—a lack of understanding about Palestine and its history," said Albanese.
"Later, I saw the ideology at play, the deep political affinity many states and elites hold with Israel. But in the face of genocide, so visible, so ostentatious, so livestreamed, these explanations fall short," she added.
The 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council is taking place in Geneva from June 16 to July 9.
The Human Rights Council was established in 2006 with 47 member states, tasked with protecting and promoting human rights through discussing violations, adopting resolutions, and coordinating global efforts in this field.
In February, the U.S. and Israel stated that they would no longer participate in the council's sessions.
The Washington Free Beacon reported on Tuesday, citing private communications between the UN and the United States, that the Trump administration had formally requested the UN to remove Albanese from her position due to "virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism."
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