To augment this, Israel obstructs the ability of international bodies, UN committees and commissions, and the special rapporteurs to fulfill their mandates and duties by denying them access and entry to conduct their investigations. During Israel’s massacre in Jenin in 2002, UN representatives and committees were only allowed access to the camp after Israeli forces had withdrawn,181 however the United Nations Secretary-General at the time, Kofi Annan, disbanded a UN fact-finding mission that was to be sent to Jenin following lobbying efforts from the US and Israel alike. Israel has similarly deliberately obstructed the work of UN Special Rapporteurs on the region; for example, in 2008, former Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Richard Falk, was detained and denied access to the West Bank on his official mission,182 and former Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk was also consistently denied entry into Palestine on his official missions since his appointment in 2016.183 Israel has recently refused entry for members of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel probing the 2021 Israeli aggression on Gaza pursuant to Human Rights Council Resolution S-30/1, and accused them of politically motivated bias and anti-Israeli positions.184 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet also recently condemned Israel’s continuous refusal to issue or renew visas for UN Human Rights staff in Palestine, emphasizing that “Israel’s treatment of [UN] staff is part of a wider and worrying trend to block human rights access to the occupied Palestinian territory”.185 Even when investigations are carried out, they are conducted in a manner that is wary of Israeli 180 Reuters, ‘Senior U.N. official quits after “apartheid” Israel report pulled’ (Reuters, 17 March 2017) <https://www. reuters.com/article/us-un-israel-report-resignation-idUSKBN16O24X> accessed 3 October 2022. 181 Economic and Social Council, ‘Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and FollowUp to the World Conference on Human Rights: Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted pursuant to decision 2002/103’, E/CN.4/2002/184 (24 April 2002), para 47 <https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?F inalSymbol=E%2FCN.4%2F2002%2F184&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop&LangRequested=False> accessed 3 October 2022. 182 Richard Falk, ‘My expulsion from Israel’ (The Guardian, 19 December 2008) <https://www.theguardian.com/ commentisfree/2008/dec/19/israel-palestinian-territories-united-nations> accessed 3 October 2022. 183 For a list of all the reports of former Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk, which all describe how he has been denied access to the territory by Israel under paragraph 2 of each report, see OHCHR, ‘Documents Listing: Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967’ (OHCHR, 2022) <https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents-listing?field_content_category_target_id%5B182%5D=182&field_entity_ target_id%5B1305%5D=1305> accessed 3 October 2022. 184 See UNGA, ‘Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel’, A/HRC/50/21 (9 May 2022), paras 5-7 <https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/ doc/UNDOC/GEN/G22/337/18/PDF/G2233718.pdf ?OpenElement>; Jonathan Lis, ‘Israel Won't Cooperate With UN War Crimes Probe, Accuses Chair of “anti-Israel Agenda”’ (Haaretz, February 17 2022) <https://www. haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-02-17/ty-article/.premium/israel-wont-cooperate-with-un-inquiry-into-alleged-warcrimes-in-may-gaza-war/0000017f-e1d9-d38f-a57f-e7dbcb440000> accessed 3 October 2022. 185 OHCHR, ‘Bachelet deplores Israel’s failure to grant visas for UN Human Rights staff in the occupied Palestinian territory’ (OHCHR, 30 August 2022) <https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/08/bachelet-deploresisraels-failure-grant-visas-un-human-rights-staff-occupied> accessed 3 October 2022. 35 1 Chapter Asia’s (ESCWA) report that recognized Israel as an apartheid regime. ESCWA’s Executive Secretary, Rima Khalaf, resigned after the UN withdrew its report, detailing that she and the UN were pressured by “vicious attacks and threats” by “powerful member states.”180