UN Rapporteur Albanese says ‘ethnic cleansing’ is happening in occupied West Bank

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, has said that what is happening in the West Bank is the “litmus test” of Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign against the Palestinians, with the occupation regime displacing 40,000 Palestinians from the territory in a single month.

“This should be on the front pages of the newspapers,” she told journalists. “The fact that it isn’t reflects their racist bias.” Truth and accuracy, she said, is “missing” from coverage of the occupied Palestinian territory. “I have spoken to journalists who have been told not to mention genocide and what is going on.” This is not just the Israeli media, she pointed out, it’s the Western media, the international media. “This will have to be investigated, because it has helped to create an environment conducive to genocide being carried out.”

Forced displacement, Albanese pointed out, has been a constant in occupied Palestine since the Nakba. “Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced. More than 350,000 were displaced in 1967 and Israel destroyed everything they left behind, preventing their return.”

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, the UN official described what is happening in the West Bank and the position of Arab countries as shocking, and expressed her surprise at claims about the Arab countries’ limited ability to do anything. She said that the current situation provides an important opportunity to unify the Arab voice in defence of the Palestinians, rather than just talking about rebuilding Gaza, even as “genocide is continuing”.

Albanese stressed that what Israel is doing in the West Bank is shameful and illegal, but not surprising. “Genocidal violence,” she noted, “has been happening since before 7 October 2023.” Moreover, she accused some Arab countries of conspiring against the Palestinians.

She pointed out that the entire world knows that Israel is trying to control what remains of Palestine, and that it is currently repeating in the West Bank what it has done in Gaza, as it wants all Palestinians to leave their land. Meanwhile, the Arab countries and the international community do nothing. “How many warnings does the international community need to receive?” she asked.

The UN rapporteur condemned the occupation state’s restrictions during Ramadan, stressing that there is no justification for banning Palestinians under the age of 55 from praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque. She pointed out that the Palestinians have tried to mobilise the international community, peacefully and through resistance, which includes the fact that they are staying in their land.

Albanese noted that countries such as South Africa, Spain and Namibia have taken measures to respond to Israel’s actions, while the Arabs have not taken similar measures other than to try to prevent Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza.

READ: UN warns of deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza as Israel continues blockade