Israel considers Palestine territories as its colonies, violence is planned: UN rapporteur

London: Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer and human rights academic, who has been appointed as the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Israel-occupied territories in Palestine, said that it is Israel’s territorial ambitions that led them to occupy as much land as possible for Jewish-only people.

Her comment came on her first visit to London after a year of her appointment in which she also said Israel considers people in occupied Palestine as colonial subjects and urged the West and other countries who call for a two-state resolution to the conflict between Palestine and Israel to ensure that Israel complies with the international law.

Albanese emphasised the need of freeing Palestine from the all occupational power of IFrancesca Albanesesrael to make Palestine a sovereign country from all fronts, including political, economic, and cultural. She further stated that violations of international law, and escalation of violence from Israel’s part in Palestine-occupied territories are not accidental but cyclical and can only be fixed by making sure that Israel recognises international law.

Albanese's outspoken criticism of Israel's settlements in the Palestinian territories has provoked anger from Israeli officials, including government ministers such as Amichai Chikli, who called for her removal, accusing her of promoting hatred and antisemitism and describing her as biased.

Francesca Albanese is scheduled to visit the Palestinian embassy in London to commemorate the Nakba, a term referring to the violent displacement of Palestinians from 1947-49. She plans to meet with MPs, Jewish progressive groups, and academics during her visit. This year, the UN is officially marking the Nakba for the first time in its history.

Albanese has faced criticism from some Israeli groups who accuse her of equating the Nakba with the Holocaust, a charge she has denied. She emphasized that the two tragedies cannot be compared and said that while the Holocaust was a defining moment for the Jewish people, the Nakba was similarly significant for the Palestinian people.

In response to accusations that she denied Israel's right to self-defence, Albanese clarified that Israel does have the right to defend itself, its citizens, and its territory. However, she stressed that the occupation of Palestine cannot be justified in the name of self-defence or used to justify the "horror" imposed on Palestinians.

Albanese has submitted her first report on the right of Palestinian self-determination to the UN General Assembly. She plans to follow up with a report to the Human Rights Council on the "systemic arrest of Palestinians on security and public order grounds," which she believes amounts to a deprivation of liberty.

According to Albanese, the failure of Western countries to uphold international law without double standards has been a tragic characteristic of their engagement in the Middle East, particularly the UK, which was a colonial power in Palestine. She believes that the UK has a higher responsibility to act on this agenda given its historical legacy in the region. She called for a paradigm shift in the UK's approach to the question of Palestine and a renewed commitment to compliance with international law.