States must not accept Israel's blatant disregard for international law: UN

The UN human rights chief has said that ending the nearly year-long Israeli war in Gaza is a priority and he asked countries to act on what he called Israel's "blatant disregard" for international law in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"Ending that war and averting a full-blown regional conflict is an absolute and urgent priority," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in a speech at the start of the five-week UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva on Monday.

"States must not — cannot — accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the (UN) Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation."

Nearly 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials, since Israel unleashed a military campaign in October 2023.

Surge in violence

The war has also fuelled a surge in violence by illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Turk cited an opinion released by the UN top court in July that called Israel's occupation illegal and said this situation must be "comprehensively addressed". Israel has rejected the opinion and called it one-sided.

Turk's comments were given in a broad speech marking the mid-way point of his four-year term as UN rights chief where he described massive challenges around the world and a crisis of political leadership. The session will also debate crises in Sudan, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

"It seems to me we are at a fork in the road. We can either continue on our current path — a treacherous 'new normal' — and sleepwalk into a dystopian future," he said in a speech met with applause from diplomats.