Name: We need to change the system that has allowed the genocide in Gaza to fester : Francesca Albanese
Uploaded: 2026-02-20T23:02:13.000Z
Duration: 15 min 28 s
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The United nations is raising also concerns about potential ethnic cleansing in the occupied Palestinian territories.

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A new report says Israel's conduct during the war on Gaza and its military crackdown in the occupied west bank appears to be aimed at permanently displacing the population in Gaza.

Investigators found Israeli forces intensified their assault through 2025 in a campaign that appeared to be aimed at a permanent demographic shift.

Entire neighborhoods were methodically destroyed and then humanitarian aid was blocked with the apparent aim of forcing people to leave.

In the last 12 months covered by the report, it says that Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid caused many people to starve to death.

At least 463, including 157 children, died of hunger in the occupied West Bank.

UN investigators highlighted what they called a systematic use of unlawful force.

Israeli troops and settlers forced Palestinians from their land, raising serious concerns of ethnic cleansing.

Unlawful demolitions ensured many had no homes to return to.

And all these violations of international human rights law took place in a climate of impunity.

Reports said that many of the atrocities could constitute war crimes, but

the perpetrators acted with confidence that there'd be no consequences to their actions.

Well, joining us now is Francesca Albanese.

She's the UN's Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territories and she joins us live from Tunis and from Rehoboth.

He is a member of the Israeli Knesset and he represents the Hadash, the Al faction there.

What is different in this report to the ones that you've seen before?

We've been through a lot of this and Israel has been accused of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

I find that this report particularly important because different than the others than the High Commissioner has produced, which of course is strike for good quality and accuracy of information.

This one contains an analysis of the overarching context and it speaks of permanent displacement of permanent demographic shift in the context of rampant impunity.

Considering what I've called in my genocide report the totality of conduct against the totality of the people as such, in the totality of the land that as the report recognizes Israel slates for ethnic cleansing.

What struck me most more of these report is something that the High Commissioner of Volker Turk said himself.

It's not just the violent actions and of Hon.

Cassif will mention this because he sees this on an everyday basis.

And also speaking in connection with what's going on right now in Washington, the office of the High Commission says justice for victims my lay the foundation for the reconstruction of Gaza.

And I think that this is what all the human rights community in the un, independent experts and outside the un, we all recognize ourselves in OFA to you now.

I mean, you've seen these dreadful images of what's been happening in Gaza, but

how well informed is the Israeli public about the actions of their armed forces and indeed what perhaps his war aims were ultimately?

Well, as you know, until now, although the so called ceasefire, although I have to emphasize that this is probably the most deadliest ceasefire that we've ever witnessed in the history of the world.

But nevertheless, even up till now, we know that the journalists are not allowed to enter Gaza, probably because the government of Israel has a lot to hide and let alone what has been happening there throughout the genocide in the last two years and more.

So most of the people in Israel do not have any idea about the truth in Gaza.

And unfortunately some of the Israelis do not even want to know the truth, because who wants to see a villain in the mirror?

And that's one of the main reasons that it was made so easy on many Israelis to defy our screens against the genocide and the war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

People don't want to see, people don't want to know.

And that's part of the genocide, you know.

And another thing I have to say is that alongside the genocide in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing in the west bank, and

this is another thing that we must emphasize, and

of course this report emphasizes that under the smoke screen of the genocide in Gaza, there's been an ethnic cleansing going on in the west bank, including East Jerusalem, and

that I saw with my bare eyes because I visit the west bank very often.

But within Israel too we have to emphasize that there is a fascist regime now because we've been silenced as a member of the Knesset, which as a member of the Knesset, I'm much more lucky, I'm luckier than other so called common citizens because I have immunity.

And although I have immunity, I've been suspended from the Knesset in the last two years altogether for 10 months because I cried out loud against the genocide, the ethnic cleansing, and

I was silenced by, partly by being sanctioned by the so called Ethics Committee of the Knesset.

And as I said, I've been suspended for 10 months.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg for other citizens who do not enjoy the immunity that I have, they are not so lucky, so to speak.

Some of them were arrested and they fired from the workplaces or kicked out from their universities solely because they spoke against the genocide and the ethnic cleansing.

So those three, this unholy trinity of genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the west bank and in part of Israel itself, and

fascism that runs rampant within Israel, all those are connected.

And this report is much too came, you know, too late and said too little.

Okay, we talk about impunity, which means that nothing can really be happening here.

Is there any legal recourse or recourse of any form really?

First of all, allow me to connect to what, to what offer was saying.

Yes, because we have been documenting genocide.

Me, the Commission of Inquiry, Israeli scholars, betsellm, Breaking the Silence, pchr, Al Haq, Palestinian Israeli organizations and Amnesty Internationals.

The two year finding, the two year study resulting in findings that Israel is committing genocide by the Commission of Inquiry is the closest thing a judicial assessment falling short of a judicial assessment.

So I don't after this, what this report adds is the word ethnic cleansing, which for me is the reason why Israel is committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Israel, I mean this government supported by a substantive component of the Israeli society.

Some segments of the Israeli society, particularly at the institutional level, are pursuing the cleansing of Palestine of Palestinians in Palestine.

It's they're failing because let's say the international community has non derogable peremptory obligations to stop Israel, to stop selling weapons, transferring weapons, transferring funds, finances, trading with Israel.

Not only they're failing, many states are also crushing freedom, fundamental freedoms of expression, of association of their own cities, citizens to protect Israel.

And you know what's the common trait here?

It's the Israelization of western societies.

Israel is taken as an example of liberal democracies where a few people vote, the majority doesn't because those under occupation do not vote.

But the majority of the people are under a brutal regime of domination and apartheid.

And this is fine with many western so called Western democrats Ofer.

Okay, is there anything which can be done in Israeli courts about this?

Or has the whole body Politic of Israeli society changed after this war.

I still believe in domestic struggle and that's the reason that we've been trying to pursue it.

When I say we, I refer to my political party, the Communist Party and the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, which is equal coalition around the Communist Party.

We succeeded to form almost two years ago with another no less than 70 organizations, human rights organizations, anti genocide, anti racism, feminist organizations, et cetera, the Peace Partnership.

This is a kind of an umbrella organization.

We've been succeeding in organizing demonstrations, petitions, and to struggle against the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing.

But we do need the international community on our side.

The struggle should be a combination of local or domestic struggle that we pursue with all the difficulties.

And we know that we face difficulties, including physical violence and threats and death threats.

And I must say that the political assassination within Israel of one of us perish.

The thought is just around the corner, so don't be surprised if that comes very soon.

But we need to attach to this struggle the international community.

The report says very clearly, I can quote that all states should cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, etc.

And I support it because that's the interest not only of Palestinians, but