Laila Shawa (Palestine), The Hands of Fatima, 1989.
May 21 2021 - Israel’s massive war machine attacks the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) with total disregard for international law. Since the OPT is an occupied territory, the United Nations does not permit the occupier – Israel – from altering the character of the land under occupation. However, this has not impeded Israel, whose attempt to evict families in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood resulted in the entry of Israeli border troops inside the al-Aqsa mosque, followed by waves of aerial bombardment that has resulted in daily death and injury toll that will be known only when the dust settles.
More Than 1 in 4 Urgent Sessions of UN Human Rights Council Have Targeted Israel; More Coming By Patrick Goodenough | May 21, 2021 | 5:04am EDT
Delegates attend the opening of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
(CNSNews.com) – The U.N. Human Rights Council is planning to hold an emergency meeting next week on “the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
It will be the ninth “special session” – out of a total of 30 – to target Israel in the council’s 15-year history.
Almost three years after the Trump administration withdrew from the HRC, its successor has re-engaged and will be seeking a seat on the Geneva-based body later this year.
General Assembly: Situation in the Middle East
Format
GA/12325
Note: Owing to the liquidity crisis and the current COVID-19 pandemic impacting our Organization, only a partial summary of statements made in today’s meetings of the General Assembly is available at this time. The complete summary will be issued later as Press Release GA/12325.
Opening Remarks
VOLKAN BOZKIR (Turkey), President of the General Assembly, condemning the attacks against civilians and religious sites, called it heart‑breaking that the escalation of violence began at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Urging respect for all places of worship, including the Aqsa Mosque compound, he noted that the fatalities in Gaza include 63 children and 35 women. The situation in the occupied West Bank is also dire, he said, noting that civilians in Israel are likewise impacted, with fatalities and hundreds of injuries. Sending thoughts and prayers to the families of those who died, he echoed the call for a ceasefi
Thousands of people in the Gaza Strip and throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory poured into the streets to celebrate the ceasefire between Israel and
Gaza-Israel: UN experts welcome ceasefire, call for ICC probe
Format
GENEVA (21 May 2021) – UN human rights experts today called on all parties to the conflict in Gaza and Israel to respect a ceasefire, and for an investigation by the International Criminal Court into the attacks on civilian populations and other gross violations of human rights.
The experts pointed to the forced evictions of Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan in Occupied East Jerusalem as the spark that set off a full-blown war. At least 222 people, including 63 children, were killed in Gaza and 12 people died in Israel as a result of the fighting. More than 450 buildings in the Gaza Strip were completely destroyed or damaged by missiles. Among them were six hospitals, nine healthcare centres and a water desalination plant, supplying around 250,000 Palestinians with clean drinking water, as well as a tower housing media offices such as Al Jazeera and Associated Press.