NEW YORK (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime is carrying out a colonization policy toward Palestine, the UN special rapporteur on human rights for the Israeli-occupied territories has told The Guardian.
Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer and human rights academic, has been the target of a campaign by pro-Zionist groups to discredit her based on accusations of bias and anti-Semitism.
Albanese described the criticism as “intimidation, no more, no less,” adding that it amounted to “dogs barking at airplanes.”
She told The Guardian: “For me, apartheid is a symptom and a consequence of the territorial ambitions Israel has for the land of what remains of an encircled Palestine.”
The remarks came as a Palestinian government official in Gaza has warned that the only power plant would stop working within days, as fuel quantities are running out, given the continued closure of the Karam Abu Salem crossing (south)
This came during a press conference held by the head of the government media office, Salama Maarouf, at al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City.
Maarouf said on Friday, “We warn from the continued closure of the crossings and the ban of entering needed fuel for the power plant, where the plant’s administration was forced to shut down one of the three turbines to prolong its work duration,” noting that the plant may completely shut down within 72 hours.
For the fourth consecutive day, coinciding with the start of the Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip, the occupying regime completely closed the Beit Hanoun “Erez” crossing for the transportation of individuals, and the Karam Abu Salem crossing for the transportation of goods.
Maarouf called on “the international community to perform its duties regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip.”
In the same context, Maarouf said that since dawn on Tuesday, the occupying regime has destroyed about 8 buildings, consisting of 28 housing units.
He added, “About 532 housing units were damaged, 37 of which are uninhabitable and 495 are partially and severely damaged.”
Meanwhile, Gaza cancer patients miss treatment as the Zionist regime border shut amid fighting.
Gaza resident Dina El-Dhani was due to meet her oncologist this week at a hospital in Al-Quds but she has been unable to cross into the occupied territories since the border was closed amid heavy.
Dhani is one of 432 cancer patients who have not been able to receive treatment since Tuesday.
Her appointment with a doctor at Augusta Victoria Hospital in Al-Quds was meant to determine which radiation treatment she will receive.
“They told me it is delayed. Do I have to wait another two months to get a new appointment?” said 40-year-old Dhani. “The crossing is life, because as patients our treatment doesn’t exist here. (The border crossing) either enhances my treatment or enhances my departure.”
The four days of fighting has disrupted the lives of millions of people.