AP / July 6, 2023
Secretary general António Guterres calls on Israel to abide by international law after its attack on Jenin in the West Bank.
In a rare condemnation of Israel, the UN has denounced the country’s excessive use of force in its largest military operation in two decades targeting a refugee camp in the West Bank.
DESTRUCTION – VIDEO : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/7/un-chief-guterres-condemns-israels-raid-on-jenin-refugee-camp
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, clearly angered by the impact of the Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp, said it had left more than 100 civilians injured, forced thousands to flee, damaged schools and hospitals and disrupted water and electricity networks.
He also criticized Israel for preventing injured people from receiving medical care and humanitarian workers from reaching those in need.
“I strongly condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror,” Guterres said on Thursday.
Asked whether this condemnation applied to Israel, he replied: “It applies to all use of excessive force, and obviously in this situation, there was an excessive force used by Israeli forces.”
The UN chief called on Israel “to abide by its obligations under international law”, exercise restraint and use only proportional force.
“The use of airstrikes is inconsistent with the conduct of law enforcement operations,” he said. Guterres reminded Israel that “as the occupying power, it has a responsibility to ensure that the civilian population is protected against all acts of violence”.
On Thursday, a day after Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin, a Hamas militant opened fire near the Jewish settlement of Kedumim in the West Bank, killing an Israeli soldier. The Palestinian attacker was shot and killed by Israeli forces, the army said.
The finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, a firebrand Jewish settler leader, lives in the area of the shooting. He also oversees planning of settlements in the West Bank.
The Hamas militant group claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying it was a “natural response” to the Jenin incursion. It said the 19-year-old attacker, Ahmed-Yassin Ghaidan, had targeted Smotrich’s settlement.
Israel’s two-day offensive, which it said was intended to crack down on Palestinian militants, destroyed the Jenin camp’s narrow roads and alleyways, caused thousands of people to flee their homes and killed 12 Palestinians. One Israeli soldier also was killed.
The Israeli army claimed to have inflicted heavy damage on militant groups in the operation at the camp, which ended on Wednesday.
Ahead of the Israeli withdrawal, Netanyahu, vowed to carry out similar operations if needed.
The operation came after more than a year of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The Jenin camp and the adjacent town of the same name have been a point of conflict since the violence escalated in spring 2022.
The offensive further weakened the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s erstwhile partner in battling militants, which had little control in the camp to begin with.
Guterres said he understood Israel’s concerns about its security. “But escalation is not the answer,” he said. “It simply bolsters radicalization and leads to a deepening cycle of violence and bloodshed.
“Restoring the hope of the Palestinian people in a meaningful political process, leading to a two-state solution and the end of the occupation, is an essential contribution by Israel to its own security.”
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UN chief Guterres condemns Israel’s raid on Jenin refugee camp
Al-Jazeera / July 7, 2023
UN Secretary General says as an ‘occupying power’, it is Israel’s responsibility to protect Palestinians from violence.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has condemned the Israeli military’s excessive use of force in its largest operation in two decades against the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
More than 100 civilians were injured, thousands were forced to flee their homes, schools and hospitals were damaged, and water and electricity networks were disrupted during the Israeli military operation, Guterres said on Thursday.
Guterres also said Israeli forces had prevented the injured from receiving medical care and stopped humanitarian workers from reaching those in need.
The UN chief reminded Israel that “as the occupying power, it has a responsibility to ensure that the civilian population is protected against all acts of violence”.
“Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations in a crowded refugee camp were the worst violence in the West Bank in many years, with a significant impact on civilians,” Guterres said.
“I once again call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law,” he said. “The use of airstrikes is inconsistent with the conduct of law enforcement operations,” he said.
“I understand Israel’s legitimate concerns with its security, but escalation is not the answer.”
At least 12 Palestinians were killed in the two-day raid on the refugee camp which involved approximately 1,000 Israeli soldiers and was accompanied by air attacks and deliberate damage to civilian infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity supplies.
Israeli forces also attacked hospitals in Jenin, “severely damaging their operational capacity”, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI).
“Five civilians were injured as a result, including three in serious condition,” the organization said.
“When hospitals are attacked, and their protected status is ignored, the resulting damage is severe,” it added.
The secretary general’s condemnation followed a statement by three UN independent human rights experts on Wednesday who said that the Israeli air attacks and ground actions in Jenin “amount to egregious violations of international law and standards on the use of force and may constitute a war crime“.
The experts on human rights in the Palestinian territory, on the rights of the internally displaced, and on violence against women and girls called for Israel to be held accountable for its illegal occupation and violent acts to perpetuate it.
Al-Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said the secretary general said that he was “deeply disturbed” by what had occurred in Jenin and that he “strongly condemns all acts of violence against civilians”.
“After his remarks, Guterres was asked if he believes the Israeli raid on Jenin constitutes a war crime. The secretary general refused to answer that question,” Elizondo said.
SOURCE: AL-JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
