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[UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories] Francesca Albanese has taken aim at the global response to the Israel-Gaza war.
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She says the death toll and number of injured people will continue to rise.
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Her address follows a speech from the Israeli ambassador to the Press Club last month.
"The international community is almost completely paralysed [and] I am being generous when I say almost," she said.
"The UN [is] experiencing its most epic political and humanitarian failure since its creation.
"Individual member states, especially in the West – and Australia is no exception – are on the margins, muttering inaudible words of condemnation … or staying silent in fear of restraining Israel's self-proclaimed right to self-defence – whatever it means."
She said under international law, Israel had the right to protect itself, but not the right to wage a war.