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A United Nations special rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, has told the UN Human Rights Council that the international community has effectively given Israel a licence to torture Palestinians. She made the remarks on Monday while presenting a report in Geneva on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Albanese said life in the occupied territory amounts to a “continuum of physical and mental suffering” and alleged that torture has effectively become state policy. She argued that what once occurred in secrecy is now carried out openly through what she described as organised practices of humiliation and violence.
Her report stated that torture extends beyond detention facilities and includes the combined effects of displacement, blockade, denial of aid, and widespread military and settler activity. It added that these conditions have created what she described as collective punishment with long-term consequences for the population.
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The Israeli mission to the United Nations rejected the report, describing Albanese as an “agent of chaos” and accusing her of making statements that undermine Israel. The mission also said her remarks included narratives it considers to be antisemitic, while Albanese urged UN member states to prevent and punish torture and uphold international law.
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