JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) has warned that Israel's actions in the occupied Palestinian territories are aimed at imposing demographic changes.
"Israel's actions seem to aim to permanently change the demographics of Gaza and the West Bank, which raises concerns about ethnic cleansing," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in his speech at the 61st session of the Human Rights Council, reported by ANTARA from Sputnik, Friday, February 27.
Referring to Israel's year-long aggression in the northern West Bank, Türk said the Zionist act had forced 32,000 Palestinians to leave their homes.
"The evidence gathered by my office reveals a consistent pattern of human rights violations and abuses, serious violations of international humanitarian law and sadistic crimes - which remain unpunished," he said.
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Türk noted that the occupying forces "continue to carry out air raids and use unlawful force, killing hundreds of Palestinians".
Regarding Gaza, Türk pointed out that the region "now has the highest number of amputee children per capita in the world".
He stressed that "Israel continues to destroy civilian infrastructure and forcibly expel Palestinians within the Occupied Palestinian Territory".
"The humanitarian situation is still very precarious because Israel continues to obstruct the ability of the humanitarian community to bring in food, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and other essential goods."
Stressing the lack of accountability for the violations and crimes committed by Israel, Türk said: "The absence of accountability for the grave violations that have been committed is truly shameful".
"On the contrary, there is an effort to hinder accountability. The unilateral sanctions imposed on the 11 judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are completely unacceptable. So are the sanctions imposed on the Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, appointed by this Council," he said.
He urged Israel to "cease its illegal occupation, in accordance with the conclusions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)" and "remove unnecessary restrictions on the flow of humanitarian assistance".
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