Gaza – Geneva: Europe and the Arabs

March 8th is International Women's Day, and this year, as in the past two years, the women of Gaza are marking the day with profound sorrow: their homes have been destroyed, their children are suffering from hunger, cold, and displacement, and they now live in tents, trying to transform their hellish existence into something resembling their former normal lives. According to the UN Daily News, several independent UN rapporteurs stated that Jerusalem is suffering "irreparable damage" as violence escalates in the Middle East, and the "genocide in Gaza continues and is spreading to the West Bank."

The experts added in a press release: "Under the guise of an existential war against the Palestinians, Israel is accelerating measures to alter the demographic composition, religious character, and legal status of Jerusalem, destroying the remnants of the pluralistic fabric that Jerusalem has represented for centuries for Muslims, Christians, and Jews."

The experts stated that what is happening "to this global symbol of spiritual coexistence and shared heritage is irreversible." The special rapporteurs spoke of “an increase in extrajudicial killings, widespread demolitions, and forced displacement” in occupied East Jerusalem, according to the UN Daily News.

They said that checkpoints and closures separate the city from its Palestinian surroundings, isolating communities from their social, cultural, economic, and religious lives and undermining their rights to self-determination and development.

The experts urged immediate international action, particularly in light of the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the “illegality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.”

They stated that “what is being erased now—the richness of Jerusalem’s communities, their heritage, and their rights—cannot be recovered, and inaction is not neutrality but complicity.” The experts who issued the press release are:
- Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967
- Ben Sol, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
- Ashuni K.B., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
- Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
- George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and just international order
- Tlaling Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development
It should be noted that Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, an international body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights worldwide. They are mandated to examine and report on human rights situations to the Council. The experts perform their duties in a personal capacity and are completely independent of any government or organization, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN agencies. Any views or positions they express are their own and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the United Nations or the Office of the High Commissioner. On the ground, the death toll from the Israeli occupation's aggression against the Gaza Strip has risen to 72,123 martyrs and 171,805 wounded since the start of the aggression on October 7, 2023.

Medical sources, as reported by the Palestinian News Agency WAFA on Saturday, stated that three new martyrs and three wounded individuals arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals in the past 24 hours. A number of victims remain under the rubble and in the streets, where ambulance and rescue teams are unable to reach them.

The same sources indicated that the total number of martyrs since the ceasefire on October 11 has risen to 640, and the total number of wounded to 1,707, while 753 bodies have been recovered.