Shukri receives the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories

Egypt – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received yesterday, Sunday, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, as part of a regional tour that includes Egypt and Jordan.

Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman and director of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Minister Shukri and the UN Rapporteur discussed Israeli practices and policies in the occupied Palestinian territories, where they stressed the necessity of stopping Israeli attacks once morest the Gaza Strip in compliance with the provisions of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and ensuring Full and safe implementation of humanitarian aid, in addition to the need to stop the increasing settler violence under the protection of Israeli forces in the West Bank, and hold the perpetrators of these violations accountable.

In a related context, Shukri noted that the continuation of the Israeli war once morest the Gaza Strip, and the increase in the pace of Israeli attacks and illegal settlement practices in the West Bank, increases the risk of the situation erupting in the entire occupied Palestinian territories, warning of the consequences of continuing the status quo on further aggravating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. And its security repercussions that threaten to expand the cycle of violence, the stability of the region, and the capabilities of its people. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also expressed regret over the reluctance of a number of countries so far to describe Israeli practices as a flagrant violation of international law.

Ambassador Abu Zeid added that the two parties exchanged assessments on the human rights and humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where Shukri reaffirmed the necessity of stopping Israeli practices aimed at pushing the displacement of Palestinians outside their lands, and implementing policies of collective punishment and indiscriminate targeting of civilians. And to put an end to the human suffering to which the Palestinian people are exposed, with an approach of unprecedented scale and impact, stressing the responsibility of the international community to stop these violations, and not to recognize and reject any effects arising from illegal Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territories.

For her part, the UN rapporteur expressed her regret and denunciation at her inability to conduct a field visit to the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories, as Israeli refusal prevented her from completing her mission.

The United Nations Rapporteur thanked Egypt for its efforts to stop the war and Israeli violations once morest the Palestinians, and for its role in bringing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

Albanese also expressed her deep concern as a result of the catastrophic humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people in light of Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, calling on Israel to comply with its obligations towards the provisions of international law as the occupying power.

She also stressed the keenness to continue consultation with the Egyptian side regarding ways to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinians, appreciating the pivotal role played by Egypt in reducing the crisis in Gaza, and the humanitarian efforts to provide and deliver aid to the residents of the Strip through the Rafah crossing and airdrop efforts.

Source: RT