The UN Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories began hearings in Geneva to investigate Israeli violations of international humanitarian law in the occupied territories and Jerusalem, while Israel described the sessions as "sham trials".
The sessions focus on Israel's orders to close a number of Palestinian human rights organizations last August and classify them as terrorist organizations, as well as the circumstances surrounding the assassination of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh last May.
The Independent Commission of Inquiry - set up last year by the Human Rights Council, the highest human rights body at the United Nations - plans to hold hearings over five days that it says will be impartial and will consider the allegations of both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
A number of victims, witnesses, civil society organizations and legal representatives were invited to present their relevant testimonies before the Commission.
On the first day of the sessions, 3 representatives of Palestinian NGOs that have been closed down will testify.
The director of the Palestinian Al-Haq Foundation, Shawan Jabarin, said that the Israeli violations of human rights against the Palestinians are not isolated incidents, but rather are a systematic official policy.
During hearings held by the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories in Geneva, Jabarin explained that the judicial system is subject to the Israeli occupation authority, and that laws become paralyzed when it comes to the rights of the Palestinians.
He said that designating Al-Haq as a terrorist organization is a political decision, and that it is the last bullet of the occupation to silence it.
For its part, Israel said that the sessions were held with few notifications, and referred to an "anti-Israel" program. In a statement issued by its diplomatic mission in Geneva, it added that "the holding of these sham trials is a disgrace and an undermining of the Human Rights Council."
Previously, the UN Human Rights Council denied the allegations of bias, and said that Israel had not cooperated with the council's work.
Neither the hearings nor the UN Human Rights Council have any legal powers, but investigations conducted by the council sometimes use evidence before national or international courts.