Mr. President,
I thank the Presidency of Brazil for organizing this important debate. I also thank all the briefers for their comprehensive briefing.
My delegation align itself with the statement to be delivered by Mauritania on behalf of the OIC group.
Mr. President,
Today, it is unacceptable as well as difficult to endure that when we are having long statements here on international humanitarian law, human rights, protection of civilians, and war crimes; people including children are dying in Gaza. In the last two weeks more than 5000 people killed in Gaza of whom more than 2000 are children. Women and children have made up more than 62 percent of the fatalities. As of today, more than 15000 people are injured.
Due to indiscriminate and disproportionate attack by Israel, dead bodies are piling up, households are being flattened, unarmed civilians including children, women and elderlies, are on run to save their lives. Such horrendous collective punishment perpetrated against a civilian population is unacceptable under all legal and moral doctrines and sheer violation of international humanitarian and human rights law tantamount to war crimes.
Mr. President,
Please allow me to highlight a few points;
First and foremost, we need immediate ceasefire to save helpless population in Gaza facing continuous and indiscriminate bombardments. Regretting that the Security Council failed to adopt the resolution on humanitarian ceasefire, we urge the Council once again to take necessary steps for immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Second, 30% of all housing units in the Gaza Strip have been either destroyed, rendered uninhabitable or moderately damaged, since the start of the Israeli military aggression. More than 1 million people remain internally displaced, including nearly 600,00 in 150 UNRWA facilities. They do not have enough food, water and fuel to survive. It is our first duty to ensure necessary, adequate and lifesaving humanitarian assistance to save the people who survived the brutal military attack by Israel.
Third, UNRWA has been the lifeline for the Palestine including those who are living in Gaza. We condemn the killing of UN and other aid workers, health personnel, and journalists in Gaza. After 07 October, 35 UNRWA personnel have been killed by Israel including 6 in the last 24 hours. 40 UNRWA installations have been damaged. UNRWA staff and installments must be out of any attack.
Fourth, with no surprise; reflecting their nature, Israel has been launching attack on hospitals and refugee camps and even demanding UNRWA to evacuate schools. The whole world was shocked by the unimaginable atrocity of heinous bombing on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza. Even during this unbearable situation, they did not stop attack in the West Bank including East Jerusalem. 91 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and 1,734 injured since 7 October. Moreover, we reject unequivocally Israel’s call to forcibly displace the Palestinians out of their own homeland – which is an attempt to further deteriorate the humanitarian situation in the entire region. In this regard, we urge the Security Council to take necessary action to immediately stop the attack by Israel and also to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes and blatant disrespect for international humanitarian law.
Mr. President,
Israel has been continuing its illegal policies and practices to entrench its illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem, with the Gaza Strip additionally severely isolated under a nearly 16-year blockade. Israel has been disrespecting all call of the international community including the resolutions of the Security Council and ignoring the legitimate urge to implement the two-state solution.
And that is why, we are here today and experiencing the escalation of violence and deaths and injuries of civilians.
We would like to repeat that the only solution of this crisis; the only way to establish peace in Palestine and the whole region is establishment of an independent, viable, and sovereign Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, under a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.
I thank you Mr. President.