By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA (Reuters) -Israel undermined regional peace and stability in its attack last week on Hamas leaders who had been in Qatar to negotiate a ceasefire, the United Nations rights chief said during an urgent debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday.
“Israel’s strike on negotiators in Doha on 9 September was a shocking breach of international law, an assault on regional peace and stability, and a blow against the integrity of mediation and negotiating processes around the world,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told delegates.
The airstrike, which Hamas says killed five of its members but not its leadership, has prompted U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states to close ranks, adding to strains in ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which normalised relations in 2020.
Israel’s ambassador in Geneva, speaking to reporters before the session — which Israel did not attend — called the debate a one-sided attack on Israel.
“This marks yet another shameful chapter in the Human Rights Council’s ongoing abuse serving as a platform for anti-Israel propaganda, while ignoring the brutal realities on the ground and the atrocities committed by Hamas,” Daniel Meron said.
Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, Mariam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad, said the Israeli strike on Doha amounted to “state terrorism” and a direct threat to regional stability, urging Council members to hold Israel accountable.
Algeria and Pakistan joined Qatar in condemning Israel, accusing it of multiple violations of international law, and of undermining the mediation process. The European Union expressed its solidarity with Qatar.
Turk said the strike risked undermining negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza’s nearly two-year-old war.
Separately, a U.N. Commission of Inquiry concluded on Tuesday that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had incited these acts – accusations that Israel called scandalous.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Rachel More, Aidan Lewis)
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