Ali Murat Alhas
12 July 2019•Update: 12 July 2019
ANKARA
The UN special rapporteur for the situation in Palestine on Friday raised concern about the lack of human rights accountability in Palestine and said Israel eyed further territorial annexation.
Michael Lynk's remarks came in Amman of Jordan following his week-long visit, where he gathered with the Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations for he was denied entry to Palestine by the Israeli authorities.
”The United Nations has stated on numerous occasions that the Israeli settlements are illegal, its annexation of East Jerusalem is unlawful, and its violations of the human rights of the Palestinians breach international covenants and treaties," he said, adding Israel's refusal of entry was contrary to Israel's obligations as a UN member.
He added: “Now is the time for the international community to hold Israel fully accountable for its actions, and to determine whether Israel’s role as the occupying power has crossed the bright red line into illegality.”
Every Friday, Palestinians across the Israeli-occupied West Bank stage demonstrations to protest Israel’s decades-long policy of building Jewish-only settlements on the confiscated Palestinian land.
According to estimates, 640,000 Jewish settlers currently live on 196 different settlements (built with the Israeli government’s approval) and more than 200 settler “outposts” (built without its approval) throughout the West Bank.
International law regards the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as "occupied territory" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there to be illegal.
Since the anti-occupation protests began in Gaza more than one year ago, scores of protesters have been killed -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli troops deployed near the buffer zone.
