UN’s Richard Falk under attack again – from the Palestinian Authority
By Omar Radwan
The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Richard Falk, has come under renewed attack in recent days. Professor Falk’s remit is to monitor Israeli violations of human rights in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for the UN Human Rights Council. He submits periodic reports to the UNHRC on the human rights situation in the West Bank and Gaza, but his mandate only covers Israel’s human rights record. He was appointed to the position of Special Rapporteur in March 2008. Professor Falk has pulled no punches in his criticism of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, particularly the blockade of Gaza; his appointment was met by furious objections from Israel and the United States. When he first tried to visit the Palestinian territories in his capacity as Special Rapporteur, in December 2008, Israel detained him for 30 hours at Ben Gurion Airport in humiliating conditions before expelling him. This was a flagrant violation of diplomatic protocol and a calculated snub to the United Nations; it was perhaps no coincidence that this happened just two weeks before Israel’s war against Gaza. He has not been allowed to enter the occupied territories since then.









The security service in Gaza has been restored and is now ready for a development phase. This was the message given by Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip, at a ceremony honouring Police College graduates on 7 March. The government's intention is to have a professional security service that serves the Palestinian people, not the aims and objectives of the Israeli occupation. Denying rumours that there are internal divisions within the government, Mr. Haniyeh insisted that everyone is dedicated to serving their religion, their nation and their people.
Andrew Roberts is a historian of note, but his robust defence of the state of Israel in the Financial Times (Israel is no more rogue than America, 3 March) is missing in both objectivity and accuracy. Indeed, if the title of his article is anything to go by, then he has missed the point altogether. If two rogues stand together, that doesn’t make one any less culpable than the other per se. Nor does it mean that innocence and justification for wrongdoing can be presumed.






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