Geneva, Oct. 3 (SANA) UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese said Israel’s network of military checkpoints in the West Bank is fragmenting Palestine and worsening living conditions for Palestinians.
In a statement published by the UN Human Rights Office on Friday, Albanese said the expanding system of checkpoints, iron gates and movement restrictions was breaking up Palestinian territory.
She warned that the restrictions had entrenched an arbitrary system of control that deprived Palestinians of their time, livelihoods, education and even their lives.
“Arbitrariness itself becomes a form of torment when every journey, every appointment and every family visit depend on whether a gate is open or a soldier allows passage,” Albanese said.
Albanese cited data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs showing that 925 Israeli movement obstacles restrict the movement of around 3.4 million Palestinians across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
She called on the international community to take serious action to end Israel’s arbitrary practices and immediately dismantle what she described as a “system of fragmentation and control.”
Albanese stressed that Palestinians must be able to move freely across their land, live together as one people and exercise their right to self-determination.
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said Friday that Israeli occupation forces and settlers carried out 2,051 attacks against Palestinians, their land and property in September alone, amid continuing settler violence targeting the Palestinian presence and their ability to remain on their land.
N.J/MZN
