The United Nations has criticized the Tel Aviv regime over excessive use of force against Palestinians in the occupied territories, saying attacks by extremist settlers and armed gangs on residents of such areas are backed by Israeli security institutions.

United Nations.- The United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes, announced in a report that assaults on Palestinian citizens, carried out by right-wing and armed gangs, sometimes come with the support of elements from Israeli security forces. He called on Israeli authorities to provide full and equal protection to all living inside the occupied territories without any discrimination.

De Varennes then slammed the violence practiced by “far-right” groups and excessive use of force by Israeli security officials and forces during protests in recent weeks, describing them as the worst cases of violence against Palestinians.

The UN rapporteur added that “the Palestinian minority in Israel is still paying a heavy price after long decades of exclusion and discrimination,” complaining about “lack of availability of shelters and safe areas in Palestinian villages located in Negev [desert].”

The senior UN official highlighted that “extremist groups use various means of communication to spread hatred, incite violence, and encourage the use of weapons in attacks against Palestinians.” He finally called on the Israeli administration “to condemn all manifestations of violence, hatred, and discrimination against Palestinians,” stressing that Israeli authorities must immediately rein in extremist settlers for such attacks and to ensure the protection of all those living in occupied territories from discrimination.

On May 13, Amnesty International called upon Israeli authorities to “take action against platforms that allow incitement to hate crimes, such as groups on social networks and messaging applications” after a host of screenshots of hate-mongering messages were shared online. “The commission of violent and even deadly hate crimes justified seeing them as platforms of incitement to be monitored and closed," Amnesty wrote in a letter, saying this could reduce the horrific lynchings.

“We turned to the police several times already ... and we reported on the plentiful and concrete evidence of organization of retaliatory actions against Arabs,” the letter added. Amnesty's letter also urged Israeli officials to classify the Lehava group, whose followers have instigated recent violence in the occupied territories, as a terrorist organization.

Spiraling levels of crime and violence against the Palestinian communities as well as the Israeli police’s inaction to curb violence have outraged Palestinian citizens of Israel, prompting tens of thousands of them to stage mass demonstrations.

TWO THOUSAND FAMILIES WITHOUT SHELTER AFTER ISRAELI AGGRESSION ON GAZA

Gaza City.- A Palestinian official says about 2,000 families are left without shelter in the besieged Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli regime’s latest aggression against the coastal enclave. Naji Sarhan, the deputy minister of Labor and Housing in Gaza, said in a press statement on Thursday that 1,200 housing units were destroyed during the Israeli bombardment of the besieged enclave last month while 1,000 others were partially destroyed.

Sarhan, referring to preliminary estimates, said the cost of rebuilding housing units is approximately $150 million. The Palestinian official said government agencies in Gaza have taken urgent relief measures by disbursing $2,000 to owners of destroyed homes, and $1,000 for those partially destroyed.

An Egyptian delegation, consisting of six specialized engineers, arrived in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and conducted an inspection tour for several hours on many places destroyed by the latest Israeli airstrikes. Egypt had earlier announced a financial aid of 500 million US dollars to support efforts to rebuild the Gaza Strip following the 12-day aggression of Israel on the coastal enclave.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report on Wednesday that the Israeli regime’s war against the Gaza Strip has left some 200,000 Palestinians in the Tel Aviv-blockaded territory and beyond, with “staggering health needs.”

The World Health Organization says the Israeli regime’s 12-day war left some 200,000 Palestinians with “staggering health needs.” Tel Aviv launched the bombing campaign against Gaza on May 10, following Palestinian retaliation against violent raids on worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque and the regime’s plans to force several Palestinian families out of their homes at the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Apparently caught off guard by the unprecedented barrage of rockets from Gaza, Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire on May 21st, which Palestinian resistance movements accepted with Egyptian mediation.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 260 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli offensive, including 66 children, 40 women, and 16 elderly while 1,948 others were wounded. In response, Palestinian resistance factions fired more than 4,000 rockets and missiles into the occupied territories, killing 12 people. (RHC)