Former Irish President Delivers Keynote Address at UN Conference on Israel-Palestine

[cliffside]

"Former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson delivers a searing keynote address at the United Nations high-level conference on the Israel-Palestine conflict, hosted by France and Saudi Arabia in New York. Speaking on behalf of The Elders, the independent group founded by Nelson Mandela, Robinson condemns the atrocities in Gaza, Israel’s illegal occupation, and the international community’s failure to act.

This is one of the most forceful and morally urgent speeches delivered at the UN in recent memory..."


A portion of the transcript ... 11:39 minutes


". The level of human suffering
0:53
and destruction is unconscionable.
0:57
Occupation and violence have reached new
0:59
depths of inhumity over the past two
1:01
years. from the horrific Hamas attacks
1:05
of the 7th of October 2023 and the
1:08
taking of Israeli hostages to Israel's
1:11
collective punishment of Palestinians in
1:13
Gaza, including indiscriminate
1:16
bombardments, repeated mass
1:18
displacement, and the use of starvation
1:20
as a weapon of war.
1:23
International norms and standards are
1:25
being abandoned and openly scorned. This
1:29
conference must be a turning point
1:31
towards a different future.
1:35
As political decision makers, you have
1:37
the power and responsibility to compel a
1:41
change of course. It's time for
1:44
collective action, starting with
1:46
recognition of the state of Palestine as
1:49
a transformative step that should be
1:51
taken now.
1:54
Why now?
1:57
Because the dehumanizing of the
1:59
Palestinians by the extremist government
2:02
of Israel has reached a critical point.
2:06
Let us recall that Prime Minister
2:08
Netanyahu telephoned Pope Leo to
2:12
apologize for the injury to Father
2:14
Gabriel Ramanelli when the Catholic
2:16
Church was bombed in Gaza.
2:19
Prime Minister Netanyahu has not
2:21
apologized for the more than 17,000
2:24
children killed in Gaza or the many more
2:27
children left without limbs and without
2:30
family members. He has not apologized
2:33
for all the children of Gaza who have
2:35
been traumatized by this totally
2:37
disproportionate war and are now hungry
2:41
to the point of starvation.
2:44
No apology has been deemed necessary
2:46
because the children of Gaza
2:49
have become dehumanized by this Israeli
2:52
government.
2:53
I welcome President Macron's
2:55
announcement that France will recognize
2:57
Palestine."

[cliffside]

1. Rights groups are first in Israel to accuse government of genocide

Full article

https://wapo.st/459p6D4


".... B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said they analyzed Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the rhetoric of Israeli political and military leaders and concluded there has been deliberate intent by Israeli decision-makers to target the whole population of Gaza rather than strictly combatants and to destroy life for the Palestinian people and the enclave’s health and civilian infrastructure as part of a 21-month campaign.

B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said they analyzed Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the rhetoric of Israeli political and military leaders and concluded there has been deliberate intent by Israeli decision-makers to target the whole population of Gaza rather than strictly combatants and to destroy life for the Palestinian people and the enclave’s health and civilian infrastructure as part of a 21-month campaign.

... In a 79-page report released Monday, B’Tselem said Israel’s war tactics went beyond what is necessary to dismantle Hamas as a fighting force, and documented instances in which Israeli politicians and senior officials openly called for Gazans to be starved and the territory flattened. About 2 million Palestinians live in the enclave.

... To rebut allegations that starvation was occurring in Gaza, COGAT, the branch of the Israeli military that coordinates civil affairs in the occupied territories, shared a widely circulated photo Monday of an emaciated Palestinian boy who it said was in fact afflicted with a genetic disease, not hunger..."