Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism – Ending the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is essential to stopping the conflict and halting the persistent cycle of violence said the independent experts charged by the Human Rights Council with investigating the root causes of conflict, who today made a plea for better access to the people and locations most affected by the conflict.
“The root cause is clearly the occupation, and the occupation must end”, said the Commission’s chair, Ms. Navi Pillay, at a news conference in Geneva.
The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had presented the report to the Human Rights Council yesterday. “We call this a ‘perpetual occupation’ and we say that’s the core underlying root cause of ongoing violence displayed in terms of the force displacement, the threats of forced displacements, demolitions, settlement construction and expansions, settler violence and the blockade of Gaza,” Ms. Pillay said.
“As we all know, this has endured for decades, and there’s a sense of despair and hopelessness within the Palestinian population, as well as in Israel and the Diaspora,” she added.
