Israel will become a ‘pariah’ over Gaza ‘genocide’, UN rights experts say United Nations rights rapporteurs also slammed the ‘double standards’ of countries that support Israel’s devastating war on Gaza. UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese says 'it is unavoidable for Israel to become a pariah' [File: EPA] Published 16 Sep 2024 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024...riah-over-gaza-genocide-un-rights-experts-say United Nations human rights experts have warned that Israel risks becoming an international “pariah” over its “genocide” in Gaza, suggesting that the country’s UN membership could be called into question. On Monday, several independent UN experts decried what they said was Israel’s escalating violence and rights violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, its disregard for international court rulings and its verbal attacks on the UN itself. The rapporteurs, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the UN, also slammed Western countries’ “double standards” in the devastating war and said Israel needed to face consequences for its actions. “I think it is unavoidable for Israel to become a pariah in the face of its continuous, relentless, vilifying assault of the United Nations, on top of millions of Palestinians,” said Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, citing verbal and military attacks on UN facilities in Gaza. “Should there be a consideration of its membership as part of this organisation, which Israel seems to have zero respect for?”. The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza after more than 11 months of conflict has also prompted questions about Western states’ longstanding political and military support for Israel, including from the United States and the United Kingdom, which both provide arms. “Shockingly, in the face of the abyss reached in [occupied Palestinian territory] … most member states remained inactive at best, or actively aiding and assisting Israel’s criminal conduct,” Albanese told a news conference in Geneva on Monday, repeating allegations of genocide. Albanese, an Italian lawyer, said she was referring to Western states as well as some Gulf nations and others. Israel denies allegations of genocide and says that it takes steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and that at least a third of the 41,118 Palestinians killed in Gaza were fighters. Israel’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva criticised Albanese after her comments. “She is not fit to hold any position at the United Nations, and this has been made clear by many,” it said. Albanese was joined by three other UN independent experts who accused Western countries of hypocrisy and double standards, for example by being more vocal about human rights violations by Russia since its invasion of Ukraine than about Israel’s actions in Gaza. George Katrougalos, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion of democratic and equitable international order, also called for Israel to be held to the same standards as all countries. He condemned its repeated attacks on critical UN officials or agencies. “We cannot anymore stand this kind of double standards and hypocrisy,” Katrougalos told reporters. “I hope that it is not going to continue … I trust that the progressive and democratic citizens of Israel would not let their country become a pariah like South Africa had become during the times of apartheid.” The experts are among dozens of independent human rights specialists mandated by the UN to report and advise on specific themes and crises. Their views do not reflect those of the global body as a whole.
LOL - Francesca Albanese -- who has been branded as one of the most dangerous anti-semities on the face of the earth. A twisted individual who openly applauded Hamas raping and murdering women. Francesca was also funded by Hamas. It is absurd that she is a UN Special Rapporteur -- it undermines any respect people would have for the U.N. UN Watch Files Proceedings to Remove UN’s Hamas Apologist Francesca Albanese — Full Text of Draft Resolution https://unwatch.org/un-watch-files-...cesca-albanese-full-text-of-draft-resolution/ UN refers Albanese probe, for alleged pro-Hamas funded trips, to colleagues who defended her The committee investigating the special rapporteur denounced Francesca Albanese’s accusers in May from the very charges it is now reviewing. https://www.jns.org/un-refers-alban...-funded-trips-to-colleagues-who-defended-her/ UN opens investigation into allegations its Palestine monitor took funds from pro-Hamas lobby groups https://unwatch.org/un-opens-invest...accused-of-antisemitism-by-france-germany-us/
Israeli Defense Minister Tells U.S. Military Action Against Hezbollah Is Needed Meeting with a senior Biden administration adviser, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “the only way” for Israel to return its displaced citizens to northern border is through military action against Hezbollah. Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted southern Lebanon on Sunday. Credit...Ammar Ammar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images By Liam Stack Reporting from Tel Aviv Sept. 16, 2024 Israel’s defense minister told a senior adviser to President Biden on Monday that “military action” was “the only way” to end months of cross-border violence between Israel and Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militia......... ......................... "Oh Israel, you poor wee victim, let me wipe your tears and your ass and supply you more bombs so you can feel better".
How Hamas leader’s handwritten notes are delaying a hostage deal Exclusive: Yahya Sinwar’s strategy is aimed at dividing Israel and creating a rift inside the country in effort to drag out the war https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...ader-handwritten-notes-delaying-hostage-deal/
Scores of Hezbollah fighters wounded following pager blasts September 17, 2024 By Jane Arraf Vincent Ni https://www.npr.org/2024/09/17/g-s1...ollah-fighters-wounded-following-pager-blasts Civil Defense first-responders carry a wounded man whose handheld pager exploded at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sep. 17, 2024. Hussein Malla/AP Scores of fighters from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah were seriously injured on Tuesday, when the pagers they used for communications unexpectedly exploded. In what appears to be a widespread attack on part of the militant group’s communications system, the explosions took place in Beirut’s southern suburbs where Hezbollah has offices and in the south of the country. The group has been trading cross-border attacks with Israel since the start of the war in Gaza last year. On Tuesday, Lebanon’s public health ministry directed hospitals in the country to prepare for mass casualties and warned anyone with a pager to immediately throw it away. The authorities also called for all health workers to report for duty, for people to donate blood and for all citizens with similar devices to not use them until "the situation is fully understood." One video posted on social media showed a man falling to the ground injured in a vegetable market after a loud bang. It is unclear what has led to this series of explosions. Citing security sources, Reuters news agency reported that pagers that detonated were the latest model brought in by Hezbollah in recent months. No one has yet claimed responsibility.
If the Hezbollah militants carried the pagers in their front pockets then they also win a Darwin award.
At least 9 dead, thousands injured as Hezbollah is hit by a wave of exploding pagers UPDATED: September 17, 2024 By BASSEM MROUE, ABBY SEWELL and KAREEM CHEHAYEB BEIRUT — Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine people – including an 8-year-old girl — and wounding several thousand, officials said. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack. Among those wounded was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon. The mysterious incident came amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which have exchanged fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza. The pagers that exploded had apparently been acquired by Hezbollah after the group’s leader ordered members in February to stop using cellphones, warning they could be tracked by Israeli intelligence. A Hezbollah official told The Associated Press the pagers were a new brand, but declined to say how long they had been in use. 1 of 10 Police officers inspect a car inside of which a hand-held pager exploded, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) At about 3:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, as people shopped for groceries, sat in cafes or drove cars and motorcycles in the afternoon traffic, the pagers in their hands or pockets started heating up and then exploding — leaving blood-splattered scenes and panicking bystanders. It appeared that many — if not most — of those hit were members of Hezbollah, but it was not immediately clear if others also carried the pagers. The blasts were mainly in areas where the group has a strong presence, particularly a southern Beirut suburb and in the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon, as well as in Damascus, according to Lebanese security officials and a Hezbollah official. The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. The AP reached out to the Israeli military, which declined to comment. The explosions came hours after Israel’s internal security agency said it had foiled an attempt by Hezbollah to kill a former senior Israeli security official using a planted explosive device that could be remotely detonated. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States “was not aware of this incident in advance” and was not involved. “At this point, we’re gathering information,” he said. Experts said the pager explosions pointed to a sophisticated, long-planned operation, possibly carried out by infiltrating the supply chain and rigging the pagers with explosives before they were imported to Lebanon. Whatever the means, it targeted an extraordinary breadth of people with hundreds of small explosions — all at once, wherever the pager carrier happened to be — that left some maimed. One video circulating online showed a man picking through produce at a grocery store when the bag he was carrying at his hip explodes, sending him sprawling to the ground and bystanders running. At overwhelmed hospitals, the wounded were rushed in on stretchers, some with missing hands, faces partly blown away or gaping holes at their hips and legs near the pocket area, according to AP photographers. On a main road in central Beirut, a car door was splattered with blood and the windshield cracked. Lebanon’s health minister, Firas Abiad, said at least nine people were killed, including an 8-year-old girl, and some 2,750 were wounded — 200 of them critically — by the explosions. Most had injuries in the face, hand, or around the abdomen. Hezbollah said in a statement that two of its members were among those killed. One of them was Mahdi Ammar, the son of a Hezbollah member in parliament, and two sons of other prominent figures were wounded, said the Hezbollah official who spoke anonymously. “We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression that also targeted civilians,” Hezbollah said, adding that Israel will “for sure get its just punishment.” Iranian state-run IRNA news agency said that the country’s ambassador, Mojtaba Amani, was superficially wounded by an exploding pager and was being treated at a hospital. Previously, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had warned the group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying they could be used by Israel to track their movements and carry out targeted strikes. Sean Moorhouse, a former British Army officer and explosive ordinance disposal expert, said videos of the blasts suggested a small explosive charge – as small as a pencil eraser – had been placed into the devices. They would have had to have been rigged prior to delivery. “It seems very likely that all of these encrypted pagers were modified prior to Hezbollah purchasing them, which implies a very successful Mossad operation.” he said, referring to Israel’s foreign intelligence agency. Israel has a long history of carrying out deadly operations well beyond its borders. In January, Saleh Arouri, a senior Hamas official, was killed in an airstrike on a Beirut apartment building blamed on Israel. In July, Israel assassinated Hezbollah’s top commander in another airstrike. Hours later, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ supreme leader, died in a mysterious explosion in Iran, also blamed on Israel. Israel has killed Hamas militants in the past with booby-trapped cellphones and it’s widely believed to have been behind the Stuxnet computer virus attack on Iran’s nuclear program in 2010. Tuesday’s explosions came at a time of heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel. Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing near-daily for more than 11 months against the backdrop of war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, a Hezbollah ally that is also backed by Iran. The clashes have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border. On Tuesday, Israel said that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official war goal. AP reporters Hussein Malla, Hassan Ammar, Fadi Tawil and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Michael Biesecker in Washington, and Josef Federman, in Jerusalem, contributed to this report.
Imagine the reaction if it were Hamas which did this to Israel, you'd never hear the end of it, but because it's the other way around, this will soon be forgotten.