STATEMENT
Human Rights Council 59th Session.
Item 2 - ID with COI on the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including East Jerusalem and in Israel.
Statement delivered by Ambassador Mr. Tormod C. ENDRESEN,
Permanent Representative of Norway.
Check against delivery
17 June 2025
President,
[Norway is alarmed by the blatant disregard for human rights, and lack of accountability for massive violations of international law, by duty-bearers in Palestine.
Civilians in Gaza are denied access to food, medicine and humanitarian aid, and we see continued mass forced displacement.
In the West Bank, Israeli settlement activities and violence have accelerated. We are gravely concerned by the levels of mass displacement resulting from military operations in the refugee camps.]
We thank the commission for the report on attacks on educational facilities and religious and cultural sites in the OPT and Israel.
According to the report, more than 70 percent of school buildings in Gaza have been hit or damaged. Norway is alarmed by the reported disproportionate, unnecessary and excessive damage to protected civilian objects, and especially the large number of civilian casualties. And let us be clear; the report’s accounts of school children victimized by the Hamas terror attacks on 7 October are equally disturbing.
Norway is deeply concerned by the reported targeting and destruction of heritage sites in the OPT, both prior to and after 7 October. Such attacks erode Palestinians of their historical ties to their own territory.
President,
Attacks on educational systems and cultural and religious sites do not only violate IHL, the right to education, and cultural identity. They also undermine Palestinian state building and the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination.
More than ever, we must redouble our efforts towards a viable two-state solution. Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve to live in peace, dignity, and security.
Thank you.