In his own words, Makarim Wibisono, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, resigned because his efforts to help improve the lives of Palestinian victims of violations under the Israeli occupation were frustrated "every step of the way". Wibisono said that when he took up the job in June 2014 he was assured that Israel would grant him access to the occupied territories, but repeated requests for direct access to Palestinian victims, both written and oral, received no reply from Israel, leading to his resignation. Wibisono is not the first person to resign from the post because of difficulties with Israel. His predecessor Richard Falk's outspoken views on the treatment of Palestinians led to several calls for his resignation by Israel, in particular, after backing a boycott of Israeli companies exploiting Palestinian resources. Israel's refusal to cooperate was most evident in the investigation into the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza which killed more than 1,500 Palestinian civilians, one-third of them children. Israel was asked by the OHCHR to make the findings of that 50-day horror blitz public. Instead, it held its own internal investigation in which it naturally found nothing wrong with what it did. If Gaza is to recover from the damage wrought by multiple rounds of hostility and a shattered economy, the blockade must be lifted to help people recover. Palestinians deserve help and realization of their human rights, not collective punishment. The ferocity of destruction and the high proportion of civilian lives lost in Gaza shows Israel's complete disdain for international humanitarian law. In his most recent reports, Wibisono voiced concerns at Israeli raids against the Hebron-based Youth Against Settlements in the West Bank and at the high level of clashes in the city where Palestinians live in close proximity to a large settler population. As late as November, Wibisono accused the Israeli security forces of using excessive force against the Palestinians, carrying out summary executions as they sought to crack down on the recent wave of lone-wolf attacks. Israel has questioned the need for a UN rapporteur in the first place. Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council which expects them to report back. UN investigators are meant to reassure the Palestinian people that after nearly half a century of occupation, the world has not forgotten their plight and that universal human rights are indeed universal. It is important for Israel's own human rights credibility to cooperate fully with any UN mandate, including allowing unfettered access to the occupied territories. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the mandate given to the rapporteur was distorted and biased, written so that it could not do its work in an objective and fair manner. It says that because the Palestinians and their supporters in the council enjoy an automatic majority, this leads to the one-sided and discriminatory performance of the council and its various mechanisms. But the majority Israel speaks of belong to an independent body made up of impartial and objective observers. If Israel will forever reject its findings, will always accuse the 47-country forum of bias against it, and will always claim the dice were loaded from day one, then justice will never be served. Palestinians will continue to be victims of continuing Israeli human rights violations and will never be protected by international humanitarian law. Israel said Wibisono's mandate was such that he could not give an unbiased view but Wibisono is a distinguished diplomat who served as Indonesia's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva and in New York, as well as on a number of UN bodies. On the other hand, Israel is an occupying power. That in itself precludes justice, righteousness and impartiality.
