UN experts urge end to West Asia tensions sparked by Israeli war on Gaza

The United Nations’ independent human rights experts have underlined the urgency of a prompt action to end the cycle of violence in West Asia sparked by Israel’s Gaza genocide, demanding accountability for perpetrators of international law violations.

The experts made the call in a statement released on Monday, marking a year since the occupying regime unleashed its brutal onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 42,000 innocent people, mostly women and children.

“The past year has seen a devastating escalation in human suffering,” they said, recalling the heavy human cost of the conflict in Gaza and immediate need for peace and accountability.

They added that the Israeli military has committed serious violations of international law, including “murder, intentional targeting of civilian objects, disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks, starvation, forcible transfer, arbitrary displacement, sexual violence, persecution, and outrages against life and dignity,” all of which constitute war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.

The experts further referred to a January ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that found a “plausible risk” of genocide in Gaza.

“International judicial mechanisms, the UN and the international community should thoroughly, impartially, and independently investigate these grave violations, establish chain of command, prosecute and punish perpetrators, and ensure full reparation for victims and their families,” they emphasized.

The UN rights experts also urged the international community to ensure an end to “transfers of arms by States and companies to Israel, including through proxies, to avoid responsibility in war crimes and crimes against humanity by complicity.”

Israel waged its bloody US-backed war on the Gaza Strip after the Hamas resistance group carried out its historic operation against the usurping entity on October 7, 2023 in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 41,909 Palestinians and injured 97,303 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The experts echoed last year’s remarks by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who said the Hamas operation “did not happen in a vacuum.”

The attack, they noted, followed years of Israeli “discrimination, racial segregation and/or apartheid perpetrated against the Palestinian people.”

Israeli envoy calls for UN chief to resign over Gaza comments

The Israeli regime’s ambassador to the United Nations lashes out at UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his comments over the dire situation in the Gaza Strip, calling on the world body’s chief to resign.

THe warned that the war risks leading to the "erasure of Palestinian presence in the occupied Palestinian territory and an endless reality of insecurity and enormous suffering." 

Meanwhile, the experts raised alarm at the expansion of tensions in the region, particularly in Lebanon, where Israel has recently mounted its acts of terror and aggression.

“This spillover of hostilities blatantly undermines international law and the UN Charter and endangers peace and stability of a region that has suffered decades of conflicts,” they pointed out.

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