UN human rights chief warns of rising atrocity risks in occupied Palestinian territories

Volker Turk expresses alarm over 'inflammatory statements by senior Israeli officials about seizing, dividing and controlling territory of Gaza Strip'

A soldier hangs an Israeli flag banner on a family home, taken over by settlers overnight, in Hebron, near the settlement area of Tel Rumeida, in the West Bank on March 24. AFP

The UN human rights chief warned on Thursday of a “high and increasing risk” of atrocities in the occupied Palestinian territories, urging Geneva Conventions signatories to act against breaches of international humanitarian law.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Israel to refrain from any actions that could lead to the forcible transfer of Palestinians in Gaza.

He expressed alarm over “inflammatory statements by senior Israeli officials about seizing, dividing and controlling the territory of the Gaza Strip".

“All of this raises serious concerns about international crimes being committed and contradicts the fundamental principle of international law regarding acquisition of territory by force,” Mr Turk told UN Security Council members.

The high commissioner also voiced alarm over the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

“Israeli operations in the northern West Bank have killed hundreds of people, destroyed entire refugee camps and makeshift medical sites, and displaced over 40,000 Palestinians,” he reported.

Mr Turk criticised the ongoing illegal expansion of Israeli settlements and some Israeli ministers' calls for sovereignty over the occupied territories and stressed that the announcement that residents must not return to their homes for a year "raises serious concerns about long-term mass displacement.”

He called for the immediate release of all hostages and detainees held arbitrarily, condemning the continued indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

US charges d'affaires to the UN Dorothy Shea said Hamas's reckless decisions have caused enough bloodshed.

“They have no right to represent Palestinians anywhere and must leave Gaza,” she said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Israeli forces are securing what he referred to as the “Morag Corridor”, which breaks the connection between Rafah at the southern tip of Gaza and the major city of Khan Younis.

Slovenia’s UN ambassador Samuel Žbogar, said he is appalled by the issuance of the new evacuation orders in Gaza. "What we see in Gaza, is erosion of humanity," he told the Council.

Residents of Gaza who had moved back to their homes in the ruins during the ceasefire have been ordered to leave communities at both the northern and southern borders of the Gaza Strip. They are concerned that Israel plans to indefinitely clear out these areas, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without homes in one of the most densely populated and impoverished regions in the world.

“This war will not end on the UN's timeline,” warned Israel envoy Danny Danon. “It will end when the 59 remaining hostages are released and Hamas is removed from power. There is no easy solution to a terrorist problem.”

Palestine's UN envoy Riyad Mansour accused Israel of using the hostage situation as a pretext to annex Palestinian land.

“Netanyahu has announced he is now 'dissecting Gaza', cutting through the territory and splitting it into pieces to annex it. Netanyahu spoke of 'seizing territory' openly and unapologetically,” said Mr Mansour.