Albanese launches her book 'When the World Sleeps' in Athens and accuses the occupation of exploiting Greece's fears

The Greek capital, Athens, witnessed a prominent cultural and political event for the launch of the new book by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese. The book, titled 'When the World Sleeps – Stories, Words, and Wounds of Palestine,' seeks to shed light on the lived reality of Palestinians, away from narratives that marginalize their human suffering.

During her speech at the ceremony, Albanese sharply criticized the occupation's policies, noting that Tel Aviv seeks to exploit Greece's security concerns to advance its own interests in the region. She affirmed that her book includes ten real-life stories that give Palestinians a voice and clear human features in the face of the war machine that attempts to erase their identity and fundamental rights.

The new literary and documentary work focuses on three core axes, starting with emphasizing the humanity of the Palestinian people and their inherent right to dignity and equality. The book also stresses the necessity of activating international accountability mechanisms against Israeli occupation leaders involved in grave violations of international humanitarian law, while demanding non-selective justice for victims.

Through the chapters of her book, Albanese reviews the details of daily life under the burden of siege and aggression in the Gaza Strip, and the harsh conditions faced by the residents of Jerusalem behind the separation wall and military checkpoints. The book also addresses the escalating violence of settlers and the army in West Bank cities such as Hebron and Nablus, documenting the suffering of children and civilians in those areas.

In a related political context, the UN Rapporteur warned against the occupied Palestinian territories becoming a 'testing laboratory' for Israeli military technologies and advanced espionage software. She explained that these weapons are field-tested on the bodies and lives of Palestinians before being exported and marketed to other countries as products proven effective in the field.

Albanese concluded the event by calling for serious international action to hold accountable governments and companies that conclude arms deals or commercial exchanges with the occupation system. She stressed the importance of investigative journalism and parliamentary inquiries in exposing these abuses, affirming that continued global silence is what fuels ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people.

The occupying state uses Palestinian territories as a laboratory to test its weapons and espionage programs before marketing them globally.