Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese discussed the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip on Monday. Aboul Gheit met Albanese at the headquarters of the Arab League General Secretariat in Cairo.
The discussion centered on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, given continued Israeli violations against the civilian population over the past several months. Albanese is the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Gamal Roshdy, the secretary-general’s spokesperson, conveyed Aboul Gheit’s commendation for the special rapporteur’s work and her courageous stance as a global conscience amid the “silence and indifference of many nations toward the atrocities committed by the occupying forces, which constitute acts of genocide.”
Roshdy quoted Aboul Gheit as affirming during the meeting that Israeli crimes could not be justified as mistakes or collateral damage from military operations.
“They are deliberate acts aimed at collectively punishing the population and depriving Palestinians of their fundamental right to live on their land.”
Aboul Gheit expressed his solidarity with Albanese in the face of incitement campaigns and accusations of antisemitism against her.
He said that the motives behind these campaigns were clear, highlighting Israel’s efforts to silence any independent voices that exposed the reality of the civilian massacre unfolding in the Gaza Strip.
He said that Israel engaged in character assassination against individuals who revealed its falsehoods and deception to global public opinion.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Albanese discussed the condition of human rights and Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territories on Sunday.
Shoukry received Albanese in Cairo, where they called for an immediate end to Israeli attacks on Gaza in compliance with international laws and demanded the safe delivery of humanitarian aid.—Agencies