"The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is apocalyptic. In Gaza, people continue to endure suffering beyond imagination. Israel is responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history. Official figures count over 200,000 killed or injured. Leading health experts estimate that true toll is far higher," Albanese said during the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
In the West Bank, the Palestinians still face the largest wave of forced displacement since 1967. Almost 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, 10,000 have been injured, 10,000 have been detained, and many of them have been tortured, Albanese said.
"I once thought the problem was ignorance — a lack of understanding about Palestine and its history. Later, I saw the ideology at play: the deep political affinity many states and elites hold with the state of Israel. But in the face of genocide, so visible, so ostentatious, so live streamed, these explanations fall short," Albanese said.
The 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council takes place in Geneva from June 16 to July 9. The Human Rights Council was established in 2006 and includes 47 member countries. It is tasked with protecting and promoting human rights though discussing violations, adopting resolutions, and coordinating global efforts in this sphere. In February, the US and Israel declared that they would no longer take part in the council's sessions.
On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon reported, citing private communications between the United Nations and the United States, that the administration of US President Donald Trump had sent a formal request to the UN to remove Albanese from her position for her "virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism."