New York: “Shame on the Security Council,” Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, said while speaking at the virtual Forum on International Parliamentarian Support to the Question of Palestine, convened by the Palestinian Rights Committee here today.
Even though the Council met several times and there was consensus on the need for a ceasefire, it was unable to say a single official word against the aggression, he said adding that only one country was preventing the Security Council to speak in a unified voice, while noting that the United Nations General Assembly, therefore, will meet on May 20 to address the crisis. (At the Security Council on Sunday, Wang Yi, State Councillor and Minister for Foreign Affairs of China, had accused the USA of preventing the Council from speaking in one voice).
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Calling on parliamentarians to demand their Governments pressure Israel to stop the carnage, Mansour highlighted the humanitarian tragedy. More than 50,000 people are displaced in Gaza, he said, adding “they need to eat, they need medicine, they need inoculation against the pandemic, they need blankets, they need the ambulances, they need doctors”. The international community must mobilize assistance to enable Palestinians to deal with the natural catastrophe and the human-made one, he said, highlighting the role of the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) in particular.
Voicing alarm about the number of deaths and pointing to the evictions pending in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighbourhoods, Mansour said the International Criminal Court must begin investigating Israel’s war crimes. “The racist apartheid regime of Israel is attacking everything related to Palestine, he said, and Palestinian people need to be protected. Those who are fixated on Israel’s right to defend itself should remember that Palestinians live under apartheid and discrimination,” he said and asked: “What would you do if you are under occupation?” He addedthat anything short of an end to the occupation will only be preparation for the next cycle of violence.
In the meantime, as the humanitarian situation in Gaza strip becomes grave, supplies were not allowed by Israel “because of security situation”. However, with the opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing today, Israel allowed dozens of fuel trucks from UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) to enter Gaza but other essential humanitarian cargo was unable to cross. “We were advised by the Israelis that, because of the security situation, the additional trucks we wanted to go through were not able to go through,”Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, today told journalists in New York. He added: “It is critical that the Erez crossing is also opened for the entry and exit of critical humanitarian staff. Humanitarian access into and out of Gaza for staff and goods must be sustained and appropriate measures taken to ensure safe movement within Gaza.”
Dujarric disclosed that overnight, they received “extremely worrying” reports of additional civilian infrastructure being hit in Gaza, including in the central COVID-19 testing lab and other health and humanitarian facilities. “In addition, we continue to receive reports of significant displacement of Palestinians within the Gaza Strip. More than 58,000 men, women and children have been displaced, 47,000 of whom are seeking protection in some 58 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) schools across Gaza.”
What though is significant is that while about 50,000 people are hiding in or taking shelter in schools, these UNRWA facilities are not designed to be safe. “Sadly, these facilities have done this numerous times in the past…It’s place where people can try to find food, can find shelter, but it is… it won’t be safe until we see the fighting stop,” Dujarric said in response to a query from a journalist. There have been Israeli attacks on some of these schools too. Media reports had quoted Israeli Defence Forces claiming that these schools were used to fire mortars at Israel.
– global bihari bureau
