Israeli military opened fire on Palestinian demonstrators protesting an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank. 370 people were wounded including 31 shot by live ammunition. Drones dropped tear gas canisters and smoke filled the air at the town of Beita, near Nablus.
Similar confrontations were also witnessed in the town of Kafr Qaddum and in Beit Dajan, where dozens of Palestinians were treated for the effects of tear gas. The Israeli army also suppressed a protest against the settlements in the Masafer Yatta area in Hebron.
UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Michael Lynk, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, said the settlements constitute a “violation of the absolute prohibition against settler implantation”.
“In my report, I conclude that the Israeli settlements do amount to a war crime,” the UN expert said. The settlements violate an absolute ban on an occupying power transferring part of its civilian population into occupied territory, thereby meeting the definition of a war crime under the Rome Statute founding the International Criminal Court (ICC) “Progressive seizure of Palestinian lands together with the protection of the settlements is a further consolidation of Israel’s de facto annexation of the West Bank,” he said.
Lynk said Israel’s demolition of Bedouin tent dwellings in a village in the West Bank left residents without food or water in the heat of the Jordan Valley, calling it “both unlawful and heartless”
“As long as the international community criticises Israel without seeking consequences and accountability, it is magical thinking to believe that the 54-year-old occupation will end and the Palestinians will finally realise their right to self-determination,” Lynk explained
Lotte Knudsen, the European Union’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the settlements were illegal under international law.
“Such actions as forced transfers, evictions, demolitions, and confiscation of homes will only escalate an already tense environment.”
Israeli settlements amount to ‘war crime’: UN expert | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera
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