A top UN human rights official says Israel’s policies towards Palestinians amount to a “crime against humanity” and should be stopped by international action. Human Rights rapporteur Richard Falk made the comments in a report to the UN Human Rights Council. Falk urged the UN to invoke “the agreed norm of a responsibility to protect a civilian population being collectively punished.” He also called for an International Criminal Court investigation of Israeli military and civilian officials for potential prosecution. Meanwhile, limited numbers of food supplies have begun reaching the Gaza Strip after Israel partially lifted an ongoing blockade. A boat carrying activists with the “Free Gaza” movement docked on Gaza’s shores Tuesday in their fourth successful defiance of the Israeli siege. Journalist and activist Ewa Jasiewicz was among those aboard.

Ewa Jasiewicz: “I am delighted to be here, because I have been banned from Palestine by the Israeli authorities. I’m a journalist as well, and I think it’s really important that journalists write about the situation in Gaza in an independent way, that they are here on the ground with the people, not in fancy hotels, but in the camps, and working with the people. And this is what I’m going to do with Free Gaza.”