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UN must be forced into action on Israel: Activist

A general view shows Israeli security forces advancing in the village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank town of Jenin, during clashes with Palestinian protestors, February 6, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Press TV has interviewed Pam Bailey, a Euro-Med monitor of human rights in Washington, about a UN human rights expert slamming Israel for using excessive force against Palestinian protesters.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: What do the words and level of frustration of this UN human rights rapporteur tell us about the scale of violence and crimes against humanity in the Palestinian territories by Israel?

Bailey: Well it says it is continuing. This has been going on for decades and it actually keeps escalating. Israel is very good at taking advantage of times when it knows that the world’s attention is very occupied elsewhere like it is right now with Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan and all areas that are in turmoil right now, the refugees streaming into Europe, so Israel has basically been allowed to escalate its violence with even less uproar or observation than usual.

And I commend this UN rapporteur for speaking out and he is on his way out because he has resigned due to the fact that Israel is not cooperating with him, allowing him access to territories, but it really takes more than that. What I would like to see happen is that people like him really pressure Ban Ki-moon to do more than just talk to actually try to force a conversation on the floor of the UN so that we can actually see something happen other than a lot of words about concern.

Press TV: Some say that the United Nations does not have the power to help the Palestinians. Then what do you think should be done to restore the rights of the Palestinians?

Bailey: Well, that is true. The UN — if we were totally honest — is controlled by the great powers on the Security Council and by the same people who fund the UN. But there is a lot of the bully pulpit that can be used to try to force some parties to actually take this up. I think our best hope is Europe, some European countries; I think the US, which everybody seems to look to, is never going to do this and needs to be recognized.

So yes, no, the UN does not have that power but it does have the bully pulpit and it could start really providing some much stronger pressure to try to get some of the players to take this up.


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