Israel-Gaza war: UN human rights chief hits out at global surge in ‘dehumanising’ hatred
- ‘The impact of this crisis … has sent shock waves across every region, dehumanising both Palestinians and Jews,’ Volker Turk said on Saturday
- The UN high commissioner for human rights also hit out at ‘inflammatory, toxic and hateful rhetoric’ used by political leaders
Volker Turk strongly deplored the surge in cases of antisemitism, Islamophobia and other hate speech, both online and offline.
“The impact of this crisis … has sent shock waves across every region, dehumanising both Palestinians and Jews,” Turk said in a statement.
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“We have witnessed a sharp spike in hate speech, violence and discrimination, deepening social fractures and polarisation … I have heard from both Jews and Muslims that they don’t feel safe, and it saddens me,” he added.
Israeli troops have encircled Gaza’s largest city, trying to crush Hamas in retaliation for October 7 raids that Israeli officials say killed an estimated 1,400 people inside Israel, most of them civilians.
The health ministry in Gaza, run by Hamas, says more than 9,400 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Israeli military campaign.
Turk said that around the world “Islamophobic and antisemitic harassment, attacks and hate speech have multiplied, including in the context of protests relating to the conflict”.