Fourth Committee Highlights Continuing Destruction in Gaza, Heightened Settler Violence, Emphasizing Need for Ceasefire, End to Illegal Occupation
Israel’s methods of war align with the characteristics of genocide, the Chair of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today.
Since early this year, over 25,000 tons of explosives — equivalent to two nuclear bombs — have been dropped on Gaza, Peter Mohan Maithri Pieris (Sri Lanka), Chair of that Committee, said, introducing its fifty-sixth report (document A/79/363). The Committee found that Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury, using starvation as a method of war and inflicting collective punishment on an entire population, he said. Calling for an immediate halt to the transfer of offensive arms, he said it is crucial to end any economic activities that maintain Israel’s unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Mass graves have been found even within hospitals, he added, noting that Israel has deployed artificial-intelligence-enhanced targeting systems with minimal human oversight. In addition to the deaths and destruction, hazardous debris — including carcinogenic asbestos — has poisoned Gaza’s air, water and soil, exposing Palestinians to long-term health risks like cancer. And “while Gaza suffers in full view of the world, the West Bank remains in its shadow”, he said, noting intensified military operations, settler violence, unlawful settlement expansion, home demolitions, movement restrictions, forcible displacement and economic strangulation.
Israel has also escalated its censorship of media and targeting of journalists in a deliberate effort to obscure the world’s view of what is truly unfolding. Also noting the troubling trend of social media companies disproportionately removing pro-Palestinian content while allowing posts inciting violence against Palestinians to remain, he expressed concern about “this deliberate silencing of reporting coupled with disinformation”.
Recalling the Committee’s visit to Jordan this year, he recounted harrowing first-hand accounts of sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinian women and girls by Israeli forces. Israel has consistently denied the Committee access to the occupied Palestinian territory. “An entire generation is under attack, with lives eliminated before they even have a chance to begin,” he said. Highlighting a threefold increase in miscarriages and maternal deaths, and a surge in stillbirths, he warned: “A genocide is unfolding before our eyes” and failing to act will tear apart the very foundation of the international rule of law.
Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), noted that since 7 October 2023 at least 43,000 people have been killed in Gaza, 70 per cent of them women and children, and nearly 1.9 million people displaced — many of them multiple times. In northern Gaza, the situation is near apocalyptic, she emphasized, warning about the strong likelihood of famine.
Spotlighting the unravelling situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, due to deepening Israeli oppression, segregation and violence, she said: “We need a ceasefire now.” Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and for the release of all those arbitrarily detained by Israel, she urged that country to end its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in line with the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion.
Introducing the Secretary-General’s report on the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Syrian Golan (document A/79/347), she noted that facts on the ground reflected that Israel has been administering the West Bank as its own territory and in a manner that discriminates against the protected population. During the reporting period, plans for 19,500 housing units were advanced or approved — an 86 per cent increase in East Jerusalem alone. The Israeli government has also simplified the approval process for settlement construction and extended the jurisdiction of Israeli local Government entities to settlements.
Introducing the second report, “The occupied Syrian Golan” (document A/79/337), she recalled that resolution 497 (1981) described the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan as “null and void” and demanded that Israel rescind forthwith its decision.
“We all know there is never any justification for genocide. Not 7 October 2023, not the right to self-defence, nothing,” the Observer for the State of Palestine stressed, adding that Israel is exploiting that attack to “finish the job” of erasing her people. At the very outset, its political and military commanders vowed “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” to Palestinians in Gaza, branding them as “human animals”, she said, while some officials openly called for a nuclear bomb to be dropped on Gaza. Since October 2023, Israel has dropped more explosives on Gaza than were used in all of World War II.
Israel’s attacks have caused “the largest cohort of paediatric amputees ever recorded, over 4,000 children” — among them babies who did not even crawl or walk, she said. Thousands of Palestinians, mostly men and male youths, have been mass abducted by Israel and taken to its torture camps, many killed in captivity, all subject to violent interrogations and torture, including gang rape and with physical objects, she said.
Citing the International Court of Justice, she said that Israel cannot invoke self-defence against the people it has been occupying for over 57 years, a people who have a legitimate right to resist oppression. As the aggressor State, it has no sovereignty, no rights whatsoever in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Noting that its ministers openly call for the establishment of “Greater Israel”, she called on all States to implement binding obligations relating to the prevention and prohibition of genocide and apartheid. States must refrain from aiding or abetting violations, including with regard to settlement activities and settler violence, and halt arms transfers to Israel, she said.
The representative of the European Union, speaking in its capacity as observer, condemned Hamas's brutal terrorist attacks and expressed full solidarity to Israel, while adding that it must comply with international law in exercising its right to self-defence. She also urged Israel’s Government to reverse decisions to expand illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank. The Union will “take work forward on further restrictive measures against extremist settlers and against entities and organizations which support them, as well as against Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and entities and organizations which support them,” she said.
Brazil’s delegate, responding to the criticism that debates such as this one will not bring the parties closer to dialogue because they are “singling out the wrongs of just one of the sides”, said it is crucial to ask who is refusing dialogue. Only compliance with international law can bring about the level playing field needed for dialogue. The entire world is verging on disillusionment and cynicism, he said, noting that the International Court of Justice has clearly stated that Israel's continued presence in the occupied territory is illegal and must end immediately. “If not the ICJ [International Court of Justice], who can say what the law is?” he asked, adding that calling for negotiations when the party benefiting from the status quo refuses to even acknowledge the authority of the Court is prolonging the illegal situation and leaving room for serious international crimes.
“The law is nothing but ink on paper […] when we only recognize the authority of power,” Algeria’s delegate said. Noting that Israel’s aggression extends beyond Palestine, affecting Lebanon, Syria and other regions, he warned of dangerous repercussions for the Middle East. The international community must adopt a clear road map with a timeline to end the Israeli occupation of all Arab lands.
Washington has blocked five Council resolutions on this, the representative of the Russian Federation said, adding that the United States’ support allows Israel to carry out crimes in Gaza and the West Bank. He was among many speakers who highlighted the escalation of violence by Israeli settlers and intensification of settlement construction in recent years. He voiced particular concern about home demolitions and denying Palestinians building permits — some Palestinians are forced to demolish their own homes to avoid paying fees to the Israeli construction workers. He also noted that members of the Israeli Government are calling for settlement activities in Gaza and the deportation of its Palestinians.
“The pre-1967 borders are not arbitrary lines on a map; they represent the structural underpinnings of a just and lasting peace,” the representative of Maldives said. Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law, he stressed, adding: “We're not talking about abstractions, we're talking about real harm to real people.”
Senegal’s representative said Israel is exploiting the paralysis of the Security Council and the international community’s double standards. He highlighted the paradox of calling for humanitarian aid while ignoring the crimes necessitating it. The representative of Malaysia stressed that “it is time to accord the State of Palestine full membership in the United Nations”. Both delegates, who are members of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices, noted that Israel has denied that Committee access to the Occupied Territories for 55 years.
The representative of Saudi Arabia, speaking on behalf of the League of Arab States, said the siege of Gaza is equivalent to collective punishment and runs counter to the Fourth Geneva Convention. “Peace is the only strategic path to the stability in the region,” he concluded.
During the interactive dialogue, the observer of the State of Palestine stressed the importance of accountability. Yemen’s delegate asked about international legal mechanisms to ensure this. The representatives of Israel and Kuwait spoke in exercise of the right of reply.
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