Independent UN Expert Calls Gaza Extinction A Humanitarian Crime

Reruntuhan bangunan di Gaza akibat serangan Israel Wikimedia Commons (Wikimedia Commons/Fars Media Corporation/Saleh Najm and Anas Sharif)

JAKARTA - UN independent experts say the lack of access to aid in Gaza due to the Israeli siege is a crime against humanity.

Experts also put forward "humanitarian and legal concerns against Israel tightening its 16-year siege of the enclave and its residents as well as the long-running occupation, so that it 'extorts' the food, fuel, water, electricity and medicine needed 2.2 million residents of the city", the UN Human Rights Office said in a press release, cited from CNN, October 20.

"The total suspension of Gaza coupled with evacuation orders that cannot be carried out and forced relocation of residents is a violation of humanitarian law and international crimes. This is also very cruel," the experts said.

It is further emphasized the need to immediately carry out a ceasefire and ensure urgent access to humanitarian aid, to ensure the physical safety of civilian residents.

The group also condemned the deadly explosion at Al-Ahli Al Arabi Hospital. They said the Israeli campaign in Gaza resulted in crimes against humanity.

"Considering statements made by Israeli political leaders and their allies, accompanied by military action in Gaza and increased arrests and killings in the West Bank, there is also a risk of genocide against the Palestinian people," they explained.

"There is no justification or exception for such crimes. We are shocked by the inaction of the international community in the face of war-based wars."

"The occupation must end and there must be reparation, restitution and reconstruction, for the sake of full justice for Palestinians," the experts concluded.

In response, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan rejected the accusations by the independent experts.

"They defend terrorists who are committed to committing genocide against Jews, and have just done one thing in our southern community. This senior statement by senior officials shows how distorted the United Nations is," said Erdan.

"The main humanitarian situation that they must focus on is the condition of more than 200 innocent civilians being held hostage in Gaza, not helping terrorists and their supporters," he said.