GENEVA: Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank amount to a war crime, a UN human rights investigator said on Friday, calling on countries to inflict a cost on Israel for its “illegal occupation.”
Michael Lynk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, was addressing a session of the UN Human Rights Council, boycotted by Israel which does not recognize his mandate or cooperate with him.
“I conclude that the Israeli settlements do amount to a war crime,” Lynk said.
He said the settlements violate an absolute ban on an occupying power transferring part of its civilian population into an occupied territory, thereby meeting the definition of a war crime under the Rome Statute founding the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“I submit to you that this finding compels the international community ... to make it clear to Israel that its illegal occupation, and its defiance of international law and international opinion, can and will no longer be cost-free,” Lynk told the Geneva rights forum.
Many countries consider the settlements a breach of international law. Israel disputes this and cites Biblical and historical connections to the land, as well as security needs.
In a separate statement, Lynk said Israeli settlements were “the engine of Israel’s 54-year-old occupation”. There are now close to 300 settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, with more than 680,000 Israeli settlers, he said.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally which has observer status at the council, was not on the speakers’ list for the debate.
Lotte Knudsen, the European Union’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the settlements were illegal under international law, echoing the position of most countries.
“Such actions as forced transfers, evictions, demolitions, and confiscation of homes will only escalate an already tense environment.”
Palestinian Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi said Israel detained 5,000 Palestinians, some of them for more than 20 years.
Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital, but the issue of Jewish settlements on land captured by Israel in a 1967 war has long been a stumbling block in the peace process. The last round of peace talks collapsed in 2014.
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Israeli settlements amount to war crime: UN rights expert
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Israeli settlements amount to war crime: UN rights expert
- The EU’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said the settlements were illegal under international law
- “I conclude that the Israeli settlements do amount to a war crime,” Lynk said
Turkiye detains 110 suspects in operation targeting Daesh after deadly clash
- In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought
ISTANBUL: Turkish police detained 110 suspects in an operation against Daesh on Tuesday, a day after three police officers and six militants were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkiye, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said.
Police conducted an eight-hour siege at a house in the town of Yalova, on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul, a week after more than 100 suspected Daesh members were detained in connection with alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year attacks. Eight police officers and another security force member were wounded in the raid on the property, which was one of more than 100 addresses targeted by authorities on Monday.
In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought, the prosecutor’s statement said. It said various digital materials and documents were seized.
Turkiye has stepped up operations against suspected Daesh militants this year, as the group returns to prominence globally. The US carried out a strike against the militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this month appeared to be inspired by Daesh, Australian police have said. On December 19, the US military launched strikes against dozens of Daesh targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel.
Almost a decade ago, the jihadist group was blamed for a series of attacks on civilian targets in Turkiye, including gun attacks on an Istanbul nightclub and the city’s main airport, killing dozens of people. Turkiye was a key transit point for foreign fighters, including those of Daesh, entering and leaving Syria during the war there.
Police have carried out regular operations against the group in subsequent years and there have been few attacks since the wave of violence between 2015-2017.
Police conducted an eight-hour siege at a house in the town of Yalova, on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul, a week after more than 100 suspected Daesh members were detained in connection with alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year attacks. Eight police officers and another security force member were wounded in the raid on the property, which was one of more than 100 addresses targeted by authorities on Monday.
In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought, the prosecutor’s statement said. It said various digital materials and documents were seized.
Turkiye has stepped up operations against suspected Daesh militants this year, as the group returns to prominence globally. The US carried out a strike against the militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this month appeared to be inspired by Daesh, Australian police have said. On December 19, the US military launched strikes against dozens of Daesh targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel.
Almost a decade ago, the jihadist group was blamed for a series of attacks on civilian targets in Turkiye, including gun attacks on an Istanbul nightclub and the city’s main airport, killing dozens of people. Turkiye was a key transit point for foreign fighters, including those of Daesh, entering and leaving Syria during the war there.
Police have carried out regular operations against the group in subsequent years and there have been few attacks since the wave of violence between 2015-2017.
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