Amman, Sept. 7 (Petra) — United Nations Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied
since 1967 Francesca Albanese on Monday called for rubble removal
operations in areas of the Gaza Strip under Israeli military control
not to become a “means of erasing traces” of crimes.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Albanese said in a statement
Monday that the removal, crushing and transfer of rubble in Gaza must
not result in the destruction of evidence of international crimes or
prevent the recovery and identification of human remains.

“The rubble in Gaza contains human remains and important material
evidence for investigations into allegations of international
crimes,” she said.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and
wounded 174,000 others since October 2023, according to figures
issued by the territory’s Health Ministry, which the United Nations
considers reliable.

Citing Palestinian authorities, Albanese said more than 10,000 people
were believed to remain buried beneath the rubble, while around 70
percent of Gaza’s territory was subject to “access restrictions and
varying degrees of Israeli military control.”

Albanese noted that the International Court of Justice in January
2024 ordered Israel to take measures to prevent the destruction of
evidence and ensure its preservation in connection with accusations
of violations of the Genocide Convention.

She said she had received “credible information” in August from
multiple sources pointing to an operation involving the “deliberate
and large-scale removal, crushing, and transfer of rubble.”

The UN expert said the rubble in the devastated Gaza Strip was “part
of a crime scene and a graveyard” and constituted physical evidence
of what had occurred during a “brutal and indiscriminate bombing
campaign” that had lasted two years.

She called for human remains to be recovered and identified with
dignity and for sites and materials to be systematically documented
and evidence preserved before the rubble was removed or destroyed.

Albanese stressed that government entities and companies involved in
the removal operation should be aware that they could face criminal
accountability if they destroyed evidence of international crimes.

//Petra// AF