2023-11-10 17:58:00
UN human rights chief raises doubts about Israeli safe zones: ‘Nowhere in Gaza is safe’
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks during a news conference in Amman, Jordan, on November 10. Alaa Al Sukhni/Archyde.com
The United Nations’ top human rights official on Friday raised doubts about Israel’s unilateral establishment of “safe zones” in Gaza, saying that nowhere within the territory was safe for civilians.
“Demands for civilians to be relocated to a ‘safe zone’ designated by the Israel Defense Forces are also very alarming,” said Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a press conference in Amman, Jordan.
“The so-called ‘safe zone’, when established unilaterally, can increase risks to civilians and raises real questions about whether security can be guaranteed in practice. At the moment, nowhere in Gaza is safe, as shelling is reported from all parts of the Strip.”
Israel announced this Friday another six-hour window for civilians to evacuate the south from northern Gaza. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that Israel would “begin implementing four-hour pauses each day in areas of northern Gaza,” but it was not yet clear whether that is just a formalization of what which the IDF has already been doing. , or something new.
Türk said he believes the Israeli occupation is the root of the violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
“The solution to this situation is the end of the occupation and full respect for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. As I have said time and time again, for the violence to end, the occupation must end. Member States must invest all necessary efforts to find sustainable peace for all Palestinians and Israelis.”
His trip to Amman is part of a five-day visit to the Middle East that began Tuesday to discuss “Israel’s escalation in Gaza,” his office said in a statement.
Before stopping in Jordan, Türk was in Egypt, where he said he visited El-Arish Hospital, one of the hospitals treating seriously injured Palestinians who were evacuated from Gaza. He spoke of seeing many children injured by Israeli shelling, children with broken legs and severe burns.
“These were the ‘lucky’ children who suffered terribly but are still alive and receiving proper medical treatment,” he added.
Speaking on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing earlier this week, Türk said that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes over the course of the war.
He spoke of his UN colleagues in Gaza who had to flee with their families to find shelter, saying they always “keep their suitcases close” in case they need to flee again. He told his stories of grief over the murder of dozens of his loved ones over the past month.
“The extensive Israeli bombardment of Gaza, including the use of high-explosive weapons in densely populated areas, leveling tens of thousands of buildings, is clearly having a devastating humanitarian and human rights impact…Israel must immediately end the use of such weapons. methods and means of war, and the attacks must be investigated,” she stressed.
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