Geneva: The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, declared on Thursday that “Israel is responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history.” This statement was part of her report titled “From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide,” presented before the United Nations Human Rights Council at its 59th session in Geneva. Albanese emphasized that the genocide signifies an escalatory phase of a longstanding settler-colonial project aimed at erasing the Palestinian population for more than seventy years.

According to Kuwait News Agency, Albanese described the current conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory as “apocalyptic,” with Palestinians experiencing “suffering beyond imagination.” Official figures report over 200,000 individuals killed or injured, while health experts suggest the actual numbers could be “far higher.” She highlighted the dismantling of the UN’s humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza by the Israeli occupation, replaced by the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” which she criticized as “a death trap engineered to kill or force the flight of a starved, bombarded, emaciated population.”

Albanese also pointed out the financial gains of the Israeli occupation economy from the genocide, noting that since October 2023, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has increased by 213 percent. She accused Israel of using the genocide as an opportunity to test advanced military technology, including customized weapons, surveillance systems, lethal drones, radar systems, and other unmanned technologies, to “exterminate a population without restraint.”

Albanese urged UN member states to “impose a full arms embargo on Israel, suspend all trade agreements and investment relations, and enforce accountability,” ensuring that corporations face legal repercussions for their role in serious violations of international law.