Arab Parliament Welcomes Invitation for UN Human Rights Commissioner to Document Israeli Occupation Crimes in Gaza
Cairo, September 17 (KUNA) – Arab Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Yamahi welcomed on Thursday the call by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to document Israeli occupation crimes in the Gaza Strip, urging independent, effective, and transparent investigations to determine legal responsibilities.
In a statement, Al-Yamahi said that the recovery of hundreds of bodies and human remains, mostly children and women, and entire families from under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli occupation attacks reveals the humanitarian tragedy and the scale of devastation in Gaza, necessitating independent, effective, and transparent investigations.
In this context, he referred to the High Commissioner’s remarks regarding the recovery of more than 630 bodies and human remains from under destroyed buildings since November 2025, noting that estimates indicate more than 8,000 people remain missing under the rubble.
He stressed that Gaza’s rubble is not just debris, but sites that may hold crucial evidence regarding the violations and grave crimes committed against the Palestinian people, emphasizing that protecting these sites and preserving the evidence within them constitutes a legal obligation and a fundamental necessity for uncovering the truth and achieving justice.
He called for preserving targeting sites, forensic evidence, and biological samples, documenting victims’ burial places, working to identify them, and enabling families of the missing to learn the fate of their loved ones and the full truth about the circumstances of their deaths, in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law.
Al-Yamahi affirmed that accountability for grave violations is not a political choice, but a necessity for upholding international law rules and achieving justice for victims, stressing that rubble clearance operations must not be used to erase evidence or undermine opportunities to access the truth and ensure accountability.
He called on the international community to respond promptly to the High Commissioner’s appeal and work to ensure that international investigators and experts can safely, independently, and without restrictions access all parts of the Gaza Strip, and to enable relevant Palestinian authorities to continue search and recovery operations, providing them with necessary equipment and technical capabilities.
He also urged regional and international parliamentary bodies and institutions to support documentation and accountability efforts, and to ensure independent and effective investigations into grave violations, holding accountable all those proven responsible, without selectivity or double standards in applying international law rules.
Al-Yamahi reiterated that protecting evidence is protecting the truth and the memory of victims, and is a fundamental guarantee for achieving justice and preventing impunity. He stressed that the Palestinian people deserve truth, justice, and dignity, and that the rights of victims and their families to know the truth, obtain redress, and ensure accountability are not subject to statutes of limitation. (End) M.M. / S.M.A.
