UN expert says India violating international law over Israel ties

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A United Nations expert has said India is violating its obligations under international law by maintaining ties with Israel during the Gaza genocide, raising the prospect of legal accountability.

In an interview with The Hindu, a leading Indian newspaper, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese said India’s actions must be viewed against binding international legal obligations.

She referred to rulings by the International Court of Justice, which have declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called on states to avoid trade or military engagement that could sustain it.

“The legal responsibilities are clear,” Albanese said, adding that countries are obligated not to transfer or purchase weapons from a state accused of maintaining an unlawful occupation.

She noted that these obligations carry greater weight given ongoing genocide proceedings against Israel at the ICJ, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

India, she said, “is violating its obligations under international law and might even be facing responsibility,” warning that states supporting Israel in ways that harm Palestinians could face legal scrutiny in future proceedings.

The remarks come amid reports that Indian firms have exported military components, including rockets and explosives, to Israel during the Gaza war. Investigations by Al Jazeera in 2024 suggested such exports continued despite mounting international concern. India’s Supreme Court has previously dismissed a petition seeking to halt these transfers.

Albanese’s latest report, presented at the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, argues that third countries enable what she describes as Israel’s “torture regime” through military and logistical support.

The report, titled Torture and Genocide, alleges widespread abuses in Gaza and across occupied Palestinian territories, including mass detention, enforced disappearances, and systematic violence.

According to the findings, more than 18,500 Palestinians have been detained since October 2023, including around 1,500 children, while over 4,000 cases of enforced disappearance have been recorded. The report describes Gaza as a “vast torture camp,” alleging that surveillance technologies, including facial-recognition systems and drones, are used to impose constant control and fear.

Albanese also pointed to alleged obstruction of legal access, intimidation of detainees, and the targeting of professionals including doctors, journalists, and humanitarian workers.

The report claims that even UN staff, including personnel from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, were subjected to interrogation and abuse.

Beyond legal concerns, Albanese framed India’s position as a deeper moral contradiction, linking it to the country’s anti-colonial past.

She said both India and Israel emerged from British colonial rule, noting that Israel was established within Palestine during that period, and argued that both states now have a responsibility to uphold international law.

Instead, she said, their current actions are contributing to the erosion of a global legal system built after decolonisation, describing India’s alignment with Israel as a “troubling” departure from its historical legacy.

“It seems to me that there is a betrayal of that past,” she said, warning that growing global disregard for international law — citing figures such as Donald Trump and Netanyahu — risks making “lawlessness widespread and systemic.”

She added that legal accountability may not be limited to states alone, pointing to emerging cases in countries like Italy where individuals are being targeted for authorising policies linked to alleged violations.

Albanese’s comments add to increasing international scrutiny of governments maintaining close ties with Israel during the Gaza genocide, as legal and diplomatic pressure continues to mount across global institutions.