The Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour appealed to the member states of the Security Council to be guided by the rules of international humanitarian law without exception and not to send a message that the lives of Palestinians do not matter.
Mansour’s call came after the Security Council refused to adopt the Russian draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Only five member states of the Security Council voted in favor of the Russian resolution.
Four countries opposed it, and six abstained from voting, after closed consultations were held by the Council’s 15 members, at dawn on Tuesday.
In a Tuesday statement, Mansour stressed the need to take three immediate actions: stop the attack on the Palestinian people, allow immediate and unhindered humanitarian access throughout the Gaza Strip, and stop the forced evacuation of Palestinians.
Mansour wondered why the Security Council was unable to call for a ceasefire “in order to stop the aggression and massacres.”
“Do you know what deserves your unconditional support? It is the rules of international law, human rights, peace and justice, so that no Palestinian or Israeli is killed. So that our people can finally live in freedom and dignity on the land of their ancestors, and so that two states (Palestine and Israel) can live side by side in peace and security in accordance with your decisions,” he asked them.
The Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN, Lana Nusseibeh, said that “Civilians in Gaza today face a brutal war without any safe haven to turn to,” adding that Gaza is subject to a siege without a source of food, water, medicines, medical supplies, and electricity – according to Sky News Arabia.
Nusseibeh explained that two million people depend on only one water supply line, while the power plant stopped due to a lack of fuel.
She called on the international community to acknowledge that “the evacuation of more than a million people – who have no safe haven and do not have assistance – is an illegitimate request and cannot be achieved.”
Nusseibeh called on the Council to take action and not be satisfied with statements, with the aim of protecting all civilians, providing humanitarian assistance in a safe manner, and releasing prisoners unconditionally. She stressed the need to ensure the security and safety of humanitarian workers.
And she described the call for a ceasefire as “essential.”
