Francesca Albanese urges countries to cut all ties with Israel over Gaza war

The National

3 days ago

The UN's special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories on Tuesday urged countries to make concrete moves to stop the 'genocide' in Gaza.
Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries who met in Colombia's capital to discuss the Israel-Gaza war and ways that nations can try to stop Israel's military offensive in the territory.
'Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the state of Israel … and ensure its private sector does the same,' Ms Albanese said. 'The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal.'
She stressed the importance of completely cutting ties. 'Cutting ties only with the components that are in the occupied territories would only treat the symptoms,' Ms Albanese said.
She has previously accused Israel of carrying out one of the 'cruellest genocides in modern history'.
The two-day conference is the first meeting of the Hague Group, a collection of developing countries who have vowed to uphold the rulings of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court with respect to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Many of the countries attending have described what is happening in Gaza as genocide, which Israel has rejected.
It is not clear whether the conference's participating countries have enough influence over Israel to force it to change its policies in Gaza, where more than 58,300 people have been killed in Israeli military operations. They followed a deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people.
The conference is co-chaired by the governments of South Africa and Colombia. South Africa in late 2023 filed a case with the ICJ, accusing Israel of committing genocide. Colombia in May last year cut relations with Israel in response to the Gaza war, and has requested to join South Africa's ICJ case.
Colombia's vice minister for foreign affairs, Mauricio Jaramillo, said on Monday that the nations taking part in the Bogota meeting, which also include Qatar and Turkey, will be discussing diplomatic and judicial measures that can put more pressure on Israel to stop its attacks.
Mr Jaramillo described Israel's conduct in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as an affront to the international order.
'This is not just about Palestine,' he told reporters. 'It is about defending international law … and the right to self-determination.'
Ms Albanese's comments and her attendance at the event come after the US imposed sanctions against her over her efforts to have the ICC take action against US and Israeli officials, companies and executives.
The move came after a February executive order by US President Donald Trump placed sanctions on the ICC and anyone assisting its work.