World gave Israel ‘license’ to torture Palestinians: UN rapporteur

NEW YORK - 24 March 2026: United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese said torture has “effectively become state policy” by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, asserting that Israel has been granted a global “license to torture Palestinians.”

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Albanese made the remarks while presenting her latest report to the UN Human Rights Council, according to AFP.

“Israel has effectively been given a license to torture Palestinians, because most of your governments, your ministers, have allowed it," Albanese said.

She added that torture “extends far beyond prison walls,” affecting “the entire occupied Palestinian territory.”

Albanese warned of “evidence of atrocity crimes targeting the totality of the Palestinian people, across the totality of the occupied land, through a totality of criminal conduct.”

She cited “testimonies that I and many others are documenting.”

Albanese warned against disregard for international law, which “will not stop in Palestine.”

“It is already unfolding from Lebanon to Iran, across the Gulf countries, and in Venezuela,” Albanese said, warning that disregard for international law will spread beyond if left unchecked.