The United Nations is being accused of allowing Hamas to literaly ‘get away with murder’ in Palestine according to an international expert in international law.
The charges arise from Hamas’ deadly clashes with Israel in which over 200 people, mainly Palestinians, have been killed in the last two weeks.
International law expert Professor Anne Peters, an expert in international law at the University of Amsterdam, argued that the United Nations had enabled Hamas to get away with it’s deadly attacks.
“The UN has not applied the same standards of accountability to Hamas’ actions as it should have,” she said.
The professor noted that, whilst the United Nations Security Council has issued a presidential statement on the need for an immediate end to violence and the protection of civilians in the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, there has been no meaningful action taken to ensure the safety of civilians.
“There have been no sanctions imposed on Hamas. The UN has not even sought to publicly identify and condemn the perpetrators of this violence,” she said.
In addition to this, Peters argued that the absence of UN peacekeepers in the area had enabled Hamas to act with impunity, with the terror group taking full advantage of its relative freedom to act out its violent agenda in the region.
“The lack of an independent body on the ground to investigate and ensure accountability is allowing Hamas to literally get away with murder,” she said.
The professor concluded by arguing that the only way to ensure justice is for the United Nations to step up its efforts in both identifying and punishing those responsible for such atrocities in the region.
“The UN must take a strenuous stance and issue meaningful responses to prevent the conflict from escalating further,” she said.
The UN has yet to respond to these accusations, but professor Peters’ words serve as a reminder of the organisation’s obligations to ensure that justice is served in the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. It is clear that such allegations need to be given full consideration if a just resolution is to be found.