From the Liveblog of
Friday, July 19, 2024
UN warns that ‘anarchy’ is spreading in Gaza including ‘looting, mob justice, extortion’
The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) warns that “anarchy” is spreading in the Gaza Strip, with rampant looting, unlawful killings and shootings as the population faces a humanitarian crisis.
Ajith Sunghay, head of OHCHR for Gaza and the West Bank, describes unlawful killings and looting in the absence of law enforcement linked to “Israel’s dismantling of local capacity to maintain public order and safety in Gaza.”
“Our office has documented alleged unlawful killings of local police and humanitarian workers, and the strangulation of supplies indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Anarchy is spreading,” says Sunghay, who returned from a visit to Gaza yesterday.
Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for OHCHR, says the conditions in Gaza have “led to the predictable and entirely foreseeable unraveling of the fabric of society in Gaza, setting people against one another in a fight for survival and tearing communities apart.”
“There is looting, mob justice, extortion of money, family disputes, random shootings, fighting for space and resources, and we see youths armed with sticks manning barricades,” he says.
The Times of Israel Community.