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A UN expert on Monday warned that Israel’s ongoing rubble-clearing operations in Gaza are not primarily aimed at aiding the local population, but rather involve the removal, relocation, and crushing of debris in a manner that could serve to obscure evidence of potential human rights violations.
In commenting on the importance of exercising caution in large-scale efforts to remove rubble, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese stated:
It is vital that before decisions are made on displacement or crushing by the occupying army or its allies, the recovery and dignified identification of human remains, systematic documentation of sites and materials, preservation of potentially relevant evidence, and an unbroken chain of custody under independent oversight must take place.
It is estimated that 10,000 people may be buried under the rubble that has resulted from the war taking place in the Gaza Strip. Without modern machinery, such as bulldozers and excavators, as well as a lack of personnel, Albanese says the challenges could make the already difficult process of recovering remains take up to three years. In August 2026, Palestinians were able to bury 112 individuals after a 17-day operation.
This raises further concerns that the January 2024 order, by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is and will continue to be violated. The order states that Israel is to take the appropriate steps to preserve evidence that is related to allegations of breaches of the Genocide Convention. In the application submitted by South Africa, it is stated that mass civilian casualties, forced displacement, and the deprivation of food, water, and medical care show an intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.
The Republic of South Africa, in its December 2023 application to the ICJ stated that when taken together, the commission of these acts fulfil both the mental and physical element of identifying genocide under the Genocide Convention, The mental element is divided into two parts, namely proving specific intent (dolus specialis) to physically or biologically destroy the group itself and the commission of the act against national, ethnic, racial, or religious groups.
Once the critical hurdle of proving specific intent has been fulfilled, the execution of any single one of five acts such as killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting destructive conditions of life, imposing measures to prevent birth, and forcibly transferring children to another group fulfils the physical requirement of the crime.
She emphasized that any removal of the rubble should be done with utmost sensitivity and with strict adherence to the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death to ensure that full accountability can be properly achieved. Paired with the recent report from the UN, which states that Israel forcibly displaced over 33,000 Palestinians from refugee camps, the reconstruction condition leaves citizens with fewer options.
Destruction has continued since the ceasefire in October, and with the allegations brought forth by South Africa being years away from a conclusion, Palestinians are once again left in a place of uncertainty.
The post Israel’s clearing of wartime rubble in Gaza could destroy critical evidence of atrocity crimes, UN expert says appeared first on JURIST - News.
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In commenting on the importance of exercising caution in large-scale efforts to remove rubble, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese stated:
It is vital that before decisions are made on displacement or crushing by the occupying army or its allies, the recovery and dignified identification of human remains, systematic documentation of sites and materials, preservation of potentially relevant evidence, and an unbroken chain of custody under independent oversight must take place.
It is estimated that 10,000 people may be buried under the rubble that has resulted from the war taking place in the Gaza Strip. Without modern machinery, such as bulldozers and excavators, as well as a lack of personnel, Albanese says the challenges could make the already difficult process of recovering remains take up to three years. In August 2026, Palestinians were able to bury 112 individuals after a 17-day operation.
This raises further concerns that the January 2024 order, by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is and will continue to be violated. The order states that Israel is to take the appropriate steps to preserve evidence that is related to allegations of breaches of the Genocide Convention. In the application submitted by South Africa, it is stated that mass civilian casualties, forced displacement, and the deprivation of food, water, and medical care show an intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.
The Republic of South Africa, in its December 2023 application to the ICJ stated that when taken together, the commission of these acts fulfil both the mental and physical element of identifying genocide under the Genocide Convention, The mental element is divided into two parts, namely proving specific intent (dolus specialis) to physically or biologically destroy the group itself and the commission of the act against national, ethnic, racial, or religious groups.
Once the critical hurdle of proving specific intent has been fulfilled, the execution of any single one of five acts such as killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting destructive conditions of life, imposing measures to prevent birth, and forcibly transferring children to another group fulfils the physical requirement of the crime.
She emphasized that any removal of the rubble should be done with utmost sensitivity and with strict adherence to the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death to ensure that full accountability can be properly achieved. Paired with the recent report from the UN, which states that Israel forcibly displaced over 33,000 Palestinians from refugee camps, the reconstruction condition leaves citizens with fewer options.
Destruction has continued since the ceasefire in October, and with the allegations brought forth by South Africa being years away from a conclusion, Palestinians are once again left in a place of uncertainty.
The post Israel’s clearing of wartime rubble in Gaza could destroy critical evidence of atrocity crimes, UN expert says appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.