The UN chief Antonio Guterres and representatives of several other states have urged an immediate halt to the violence in Palestine at the start of a General Assembly emergency meeting, as Israeli aggression against Palestine continued on the field.
“If there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of children in Gaza today,” UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres has said as he called for urgent de-escalation of violence against Palestine.
“I was horrified by reports that nine members of one family were killed in the Al Shati refugee camp,” in Gaza, Guterres said in his address at the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
Guterres told Thursday’s in-person meeting in the assembly chamber that he and the UN Mideast envoy are engaged in “extensive diplomatic efforts” in the region, including with Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar to stop the fighting.
At least 232 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza since May 10, including 65 children, 39 women, and 17 elderly.
He called on all members of the international community “to do everything in their power to enable the parties to conflict to step back from the brink.”
‘Israel is occupying our land’
The General Assembly meeting was requested by Niger and Algeria, respectively the current chairs of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab Group at the United Nations.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki minced no words in rejecting statements made by world leaders suggesting that Israel is defending itself through its offensive on Gaza, maintaining its aim is to “sow the seeds of terror.”
“It is not pretending it was a mistake. It is not even apologising. It is rather reaffirming that it is its right to commit these crimes, to kill innocent people, and it is blaming the victim,” Maliki said.
“Israel is a colonisation power. It is occupying our land. It is persecuting a whole people. Israel would ask you, ‘what would you have done if missiles were targeting your cities?’ But Israel forgets that its occupation is the root cause of the violence,” he said.
‘Negotiations should include ending the occupation’
The Turkish president of the 75th UN General Assembly also called on Israel and Palestine to swiftly “return to the negotiations with a goal of ending the occupation.”
“The way forward to end tension between two nations is addressing all final status issues, including the status of Jerusalem, and achieving two independent sovereign states – Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition with the basis of the pre-1967 lines, Jerusalem as the capital of both states,” Volkan Bozkir said during his opening remarks.
“The parties must step away from the brink and respect international law. Israel, as an occupying power, must ensure compliance with its international humanitarian law obligations, including proportionate use of force,” he said.
“Palestinians should not live under perpetual fear of eviction from their homes because of expanding settler colonialism in the West Bank,” he continued. “The eviction of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah could constitute a war crime under international law.”
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