Geneva: AUNcommitteeon racismvoicedconcernon Fridayabouta “sharp increase in racisthatespeechand dehumanisation” directed atPalestiniansbyIsraelis, including senior officials, since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva criticised the statement which it said “failed all the victims of the October 7 massacre and the victims of antisemitic attacks worldwide”.
Israel says some 1,400 people were killed and more than 220 taken hostage when Hamas gunmen carried out attacks in southern Israel, prompting weeks ofIsraelistrikes on Gaza. The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza says more than 7,000Palestinianshave been killed in the air strikes.
Israel has also stepped up operationsagainstIslamist groups in the West Bank.
Since the start of the conflict there have been a growing number of reports of both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in places such as the United States and Britain.
The Geneva-basedcommitteesaid it was “highlyconcerned” by recent comments including those made by seniorIsraeliofficials, politicians and public figures and called for Israel to condemnhatespeechand investigate and punish such acts.
It made specific reference to remarks made by Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Oct. 9 in which he referred toPalestiniansas “human animals” and said such language “could incite genocidal actions”. Gallant’s comments have already drawn condemnation fromPalestiniansand others.
Thecommitteealso repeated a past recommendation forPalestinianauthorities to combathatespeechand incitement to violence.
Israel’s diplomatic mission to theU.N. in Geneva said thecommittee’s statement ignored surging antisemitism, including attacks on Jews and what it said were calls by protesters to murder them. “This has all been cynically cast aside by theCommittee,” it said.
The comments from theUNcommitteefollows Israel’s criticism of the global body’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres whom it accused of justifying Hamas attacks on Israel. Guterres rejected Israel’s accusation, calling them a misrepresentation of his remarks.
TheU.N.committeeis made up of 18 independent experts and tasked with monitoring compliance with a 1965 treatyagainstracism which Israel andPalestinianauthorities have both ratified.
(Published 27 October 2023, 16:57 IST)