From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
UN Human Rights Council marks loss of life in ‘Palestinian territory and elsewhere’
Luke Tress is a JTA reporter and a former editor and reporter in New York for The Times of Israel.
The UN Human Rights Council holds a moment of silence for the “loss of innocent lives in the occupied Palestinian territory and elsewhere,” after Palestinian terrorists’ indiscriminate slaughter of over 900 Israelis.
Pakistani envoy Zaman Mehdi calls the motion on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states, representing 57 countries.
Mehdi’s statement blames Israel for the attack and “breeding violence,” without mentioning Israel by name at any point. The statement makes no mention of Israeli victims, terror or Hamas.
On Monday afternoon, the @UN Human Rights Council observed a moment of silence for the loss of innocent lives in the occupied Palestinian territory and elsewhere.#HRC54 pic.twitter.com/9cgQDoQAyF
— United Nations Human Rights Council | ???? #HRC54 (@UN_HRC) October 9, 2023
The whole chamber appears to stand up at Mehdi’s request for a moment of silence, including the representatives of Germany, Belgium, France, Finland, Argentina, the UAE, Mexico and Morocco.
The Anti-Defamation League lashes the UNHRC, saying it is “blatantly ignoring the nearly 1,000 people in Israel who were brutally massacred by Hamas, and the over 150 innocent people taken hostage into Gaza.”
The UNHRC in Geneva and UN General Assembly have long had a lopsided focus on the Jewish state, targeting Israel in more condemnations and investigations than any other country.
The UNHRC’s special rapporteur for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Francesca Albanese, has not condemned Hamas for its onslaught against Israeli civilians, but today accused Israel of “militarized settler colonial occupation.”
Albanese did not respond to a Times of Israel request for comment on Hamas atrocities.
Albanese has a history of antisemitic comments and regularly singles out Israel for criticism. Two weeks ago, she said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding a map that did not show the Palestinian territories was “flagrantly unlawful.” In recent months, she said Israeli activities in the West Bank could constitute war crimes and demanded Israel release Palestinian prisoners.
