“Special steps must be taken to ensure that the human rights of the Palestinian people are protected and the rule of law established in an occupation which has lasted now for more than 45 years,” said Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestine, in a press release ahead of the presentation of his final report to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.

Asking that the Court – the UN’s highest legal body – weigh allegations that the occupation has legally unacceptable characteristics of “colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing,” the expert also called on the Council to examine the legal implications of the occupation, and urged the international community to act decisively to uphold Palestinian human rights.