UN Rapporteur Says Gaza Strip Nearing Humanitarian Catastrophe Due To Israel's Actions

Muhammad Irfan Published March 18, 2019 | 05:20 PM

Israel does not fulfill its international obligations, depriving the Palestinians of the use of their natural resources and putting the situation in the Gaza Strip on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory, Michael Lynk, said on Monday

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2019) Israel does not fulfill its international obligations, depriving the Palestinians of the use of their natural resources and putting the situation in the Gaza Strip on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory, Michael Lynk, said on Monday.

"There are serious concerns about ... the near humanitarian catastrophe in the territory caused by the blockade," Lynk said, presenting his report to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

According to the rapporteur, Israel has been extracting natural resources from the occupied territories for its own benefit, denying Palestinians any access to fertile land and fishing.

"Israeli practices in relation to water, extraction of other resources, and environmental protection, raise serious concerns. With the collapse of natural sources of drinking water in Gaza and the inability of Palestinians to access most of their water sources in the West Bank, water has become a potent symbol of the systematic violation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," Lynk said.

He also recalled serious concerns about Israel disposing hazardous waste in the West Bank's "environmental sacrificed zones," a practice that harms both Palestinians and Israelis.

Lynk said that Israel did not give him access to the occupied territories, as provided for by the Special Rapporteur's mandate. Representatives of Israel were not present at the HRC during Lynk's speech.

The Palestinians have for decades been seeking diplomatic recognition of their state within the borders that existed prior to the 1967 Six-Day War and included the territory of the Gaza Strip. The Israelis left the Gaza Strip in 2005 but maintained a blockade around the enclave, citing security considerations. About two million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip under the rule of the Islamist movement Hamas.