FPJ News Service United Nations

“A complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted,” insisted Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, after the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan which portends a full-scale Israeli military takeover in the battered enclave.

The development runs contrary to international law, Türk continued, referring to a ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must end its occupation and achieve a two-State solution giving Palestinians the right to self-determination.

Any further escalation of the conflict between Hamas and Israel that has devastated Gaza and killed tens of thousands “will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes”, the UN rights chief said.

Türk insisted that rather than intensifying the conflict, “the Israeli Government should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid”. At the same time, all hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released by Palestinian armed groups, he continued, adding that Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel must also be released.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday condemned as "wrong" Israel's plan to further escalate its offensive in Gaza, calling for a reconsideration of the move that will only bring "more bloodshed" in the nearly two-year-long conflict. The UK condemnation came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet approved plans to takeover Gaza City in the Palestinian enclave by a majority vote overnight.

But it is one that, at least so far, the US government has greeted with a telling and collective shrug. Washington's Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said, "It's not our job to tell them what they should or should not do," he said. "Certainly, if they ask for wisdom, counsel, advice, I'm sure the president would offer it. But ultimately, it's the decision that the Israelis and only the Israelis can make."