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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Francesca Albanese, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, has accused numerous countries of complicity in the genocide committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip. In her recent report, titled "Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime," presented to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, October 28, she called for establishing a new multilateral system to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.According to a report by Al Jazeera, Albanese presented her findings online from the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa. She characterized Gaza as a territory that is "strangled, starved, shattered."The 24-page report analyzes the involvement of 63 countries in Israel's actions across Gaza and the West Bank and criticizes the world's multilateral system for experiencing a moral and political failure."Through unlawful actions and deliberate omissions, too many states have harmed, founded and shielded Israel’s militarised apartheid, allowing its settler colonial enterprise to metastasise into genocide, the ultimate crime against the indigenous people of Palestine," Albanese said.Diplomatic Protection by the USIn her report, Albanese argues that the alleged genocide in Gaza is the result of a broad international support network, encompassing diplomatic protection, military cooperation, and trade relations. She highlighted how international forums, intended to preserve peace, have instead become protectors of the perpetrators.The report specifically focuses on the United States, which is said to provide "diplomatic cover" to Israel by exercising its veto power in the UN Security Council seven times and controlling ceasefire negotiations. Other Western countries are accused of reinforcing "a simplistic rhetoric of ‘balance’" by abstaining from, delaying, or weakening draft resolutions.Involvement of Western and Arab CountriesThe report notes that many countries continue to supply weapons to Israel despite mounting evidence of the alleged genocide. Albanese specifically pointed to the U.S. Congress's approval of a $26.4 billion defense aid package at a time when Israel threatened to invade Rafah, a development that the administration of President Joe Biden had previously designated as a "red line."Furthermore, the report names Germany as the second-largest arms exporter to Israel during the conflict, supplying various military assets, including frigates and torpedoes. Britain was reported to have conducted over 600 aerial surveillance missions over Gaza since the war began in October 2023.Albanese also addressed the involvement of Arab and Muslim countries that have signed normalization agreements with Israel through U.S. mediation. She highlighted Egypt, which, despite the war, continued to maintain security and economic relations, including energy cooperation, while simultaneously closing the Rafah crossing.Attack on the UNAlbanese also called attention to the sanctions imposed on her by the United States earlier this year, which prevented her from attending the presentation in New York in person. She stated: "These measures constitute an assault on the UN itself, its independence, its integrity, its very soul. If left unchallenged, these sanctions will drive yet another nail into the coffin of the multilateral system."Meanwhile, Middle East Eye reported that last Wednesday, Israel launched another large-scale aerial attack on Gaza during the ceasefire, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 Palestinian civilians, nearly half of whom were children. Hamas denied Israel's counter-accusations of violating the agreement, asserting that it had complied with all its terms. In total, 211 Gaza residents have reportedly died in the last three weeks since the ceasefire was implemented.Editor’s Choice: More Than 100 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza, Officials ReportClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
