Region
UN human rights chief urges immediate halt to Israeli military control plan over Gaza
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has called for an immediate halt to the Israeli government's plan to impose full military control over the occupied Gaza Strip.
In a statement issued Friday, Turk emphasized that the plan contradicts the ruling of the International Court of Justice, which calls for an end to the Israeli occupation.
He also stated that it undermines the possibility of achieving the agreed-upon two-state solution and violates the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.
He warned that this further escalation will lead to more widespread forced displacement, more killing, unbearable suffering, senseless destruction, and the commission of horrific crimes.
Turk added that instead of intensifying the war, the Israeli government should focus all its efforts on saving civilian lives in Gaza by allowing the unrestricted and full flow of humanitarian aid.
His statement came in response to the approval by the so-called Israeli Security Cabinet of a plan to invade the besieged city of Gaza and expand military operations in the remaining cities and refugee camps of the Strip, which is suffering from a severe humanitarian crisis and massive destruction after 22 months of war.