Jerusalem, MINA – The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territory, Michael Link, calls for the Israeli occupation to immediately stop all actions that constitute collective punishment for the Palestinian people.
“Millions of innocent people are confined every day, and nothing achieved except deeper tensions and precarious conditions with so much violence,” Michael Link’s statement at the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Shehab News Agency reported on Friday.
“It is an insult to justice and the rule of law that we see that such methods are still used in the 21st century and that Palestinians are still collectively punished for minor acts,” Link said.
He explained acts of serious violations against Palestine, including the right to life, freedom of movement, health, adequate shelter, and adequate living standards.
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In his report he stressed that the occupation strategy to control the Palestinian population violated the basic rules of every modern legal system.
He stressed innocent people cannot be punished for the actions of others, “The level of violation of Israel’s collective punishment policy can be seen through the closure of Gaza for up to 13 years, so that the economy completely collapses, infrastructure is destroyed and the social service system is almost non-functioning.”
The UN reporter added that the Israeli entity justified the imposition of closure in Gaza as Hamas containment and security guarantees, but the true effect of the closure was the destruction of the Gaza economy, which caused unlimited suffering for two million people.
“Collective punishment has been explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law through Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and no exceptions are permitted,” he added.
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Michael Link was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016 as Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967. (T/R7/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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