The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, Michael Lynk, has considered Israel's practices against the Palestinian people an affront to justice and the rule of law, in his report to the 44th session of the Human Rights Council on Friday.

"Only the guilty can be punished for their acts, and only after a fair process. The innocent can never be made to be punished for the deeds of others," said Lynk in his report. "These practices entail serious violations against Palestinians including the right to life, freedom of movement, health, adequate shelter and an adequate standard of living."

Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur has called on Israel to "immediately stop all actions amounting to collective punishment of the Palestinian people, with millions of innocent harmed daily and nothing achieved but deeper tensions and an atmosphere conducive to further violence."

"The extent of the devastating impact of Israel’s collective punishment policy can be most strikingly seen in its ongoing 13-year-old closure of Gaza, which now suffers from a completely collapsed economy, devastated infrastructure, and a barely functioning social service system," he has added.

Lynk has stressed that international law explicitly prohibited collective punishment.

Moreover, he has also criticized Israel’s continued policy to punitively demolish Palestinian homes.

"Since 1967, Israel has destroyed more than 2,000 Palestinian homes, designed to punish Palestinian families for acts some of their members may have committed, but they themselves did not," he has pointed out. "This practice is in clear violation of Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention."

Lynk has expressed regret that the demolition of Palestinian homes is still viewed by the Israeli political and legal leadership, including the Israeli High Court, as a permissible deterrent, adding "in fact, these demolitions only further contribute to an atmosphere of hate and vengeance, as the Israeli security leadership has itself acknowledged."

Source : Safa