(Geneva) UN human rights experts on Monday called for an independent investigation into allegations of violence, including sexual violence, against Palestinian women allegedly perpetrated by Israelis.
The statement by the seven independent UN experts sparked a strong reaction from Israel, which described their claims as “despicable and baseless.”
The experts expressed concern over “credible allegations of gross human rights violations” targeting Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
They cite reports that women and girls were “arbitrarily executed in Gaza, often with family members, including their children.”
“We are shocked by reports of Palestinian women and children being deliberately targeted and extrajudicially executed” while they were “seeking shelter or fleeing,” they said.
The independent experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not represent the UN, also point to the “arbitrary detention of hundreds of Palestinian women and girls”, including human rights defenders. human rights, journalists and humanitarians, since the unprecedented attack on October 7 by Hamas on Israeli soil.
This attack resulted in the deaths of 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
The bombings and ground offensive since carried out by Israel in Gaza have killed at least 29,092 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest report from the Hamas Ministry of Health.
According to UN experts, many of those detained were allegedly subjected to “inhumane and degrading treatment”, including severe beatings, and were denied sanitary napkins, food and medicine.
They express particular concern over reports of “multiple forms of sexual assault,” including rape of at least two female detainees, while others were “stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers.” .
Experts are calling for an “independent, impartial, prompt, thorough and effective investigation” into the allegations, urging Israel to cooperate.
The Israeli representation to the UN in Geneva brushed aside their accusations, saying the experts were “motivated by their hatred for Israel, and not by the truth”.
She also said Israeli authorities had not received any complaints, but were prepared to investigate any “concrete allegations of misconduct by its security forces when presented with allegations and evidence.” credible”.