Overview
- Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for Palestinian territories, presented a report Monday alleging that Israel uses torture as state policy and that cumulative measures have created a system of collective punishment.
- Her filing argues that mass displacement, siege conditions, blocked aid, and widespread military and settler violence have turned daily life into what she calls genocidal violence used as collective torture.
- Albanese called on UN member states to prevent and punish acts of torture and genocide under international law, warning that tolerance for such abuses erodes the rule of law beyond Palestine.
- Israel’s mission in Geneva rejected the report, labeled Albanese an “agent of chaos,” and accused her of antisemitism and bias, while allied critics renewed calls for her removal.
- The report cites figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry of at least 72,263 killed and 171,944 injured since October 2023 and notes more than 18,500 arrests in the West Bank, as UN officials stress that special rapporteurs are independent experts who do not speak for the UN.