Gaza plan inconsistent with int'l law: UN experts

GAZA STRIP: US President Donald Trump has given Hamas until 22:00 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, warning the Palestinian group faced 'all hell' if it did not agree to the terms.
The US leader set the deadline — which would fall at 1:00 am Monday in Gaza — after an official for the Islamist movement said earlier on Friday that the group still needed time to study the proposal to end nearly two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.
'If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas', Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
'Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump's plan... and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time', the official said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, dozens of UN experts cautioned on Friday that key elements of US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza were inconsistent with international law and risked deepening oppression of Palestinians.
'Imposing an immediate peace at any price, regardless of or brazenly against law and justice, is a recipe for further injustice, future violence and instability', 35 United Nations independent experts said in a statement.
The experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said they 'welcome part of the peace plan'.
They hailed the demand for a permanent ceasefire, the rapid release of unlawfully detained people and an influx of aid.
And they celebrated the call for no forced displacement from Gaza, no annexation of the territory and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
However, they warned that other elements of the plan were 'deeply inconsistent with fundamental rules of international law'.
The experts, including Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on rights in the Palestinian territory, insisted that any peace plan needed to ensure self-determination and accountability; and 'not create further conditions of oppression'.
They slammed the plan's call for a transitional 'Board of Peace' in Gaza, which would be chaired by Trump himself, saying it was 'regrettably reminiscent of colonial practices and must be rejected'.
Similarly, the experts maintained that the proposed 'International Stabilisation Force... would replace Israeli occupation with a US-led occupation, contrary to Palestinian self-determination'.
The plan would also leave partial Israeli occupation in place 'indefinitely' through a security perimeter inside Gaza, which was 'absolutely unacceptable', they said.
The experts also warned that 'amnesties offered to Hamas seem to be unconditional... denying justice for victims of international crimes', while the plan failed to 'address accountability at all for Israeli international crimes and human rights violations'. — Reuters