UNITED NATIONS, Jan 22 (KUNA) — Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe on Tuesday highlighted, in a Security Council open meeting called for by the Arab group, the dire conditions facing the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, equally blaming Hamas militants and Israel for the escalation of the situation there.
“The precursor to this escalation is daily rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli civilian residential areas by several militant groups from Gaza, and regular Israeli military attacks on and into Gaza.
There are also the tight Israeli restrictions on crossings into Gaza for the stated purpose of bringing about a cessation of rocket attacks,” Pascoe told the council in a statement.
He said indiscriminate rocket and mortar firing towards civilian population centres and crossing points is “totally unacceptable. We condemn it unreservedly. They have been a regular occurrence since well before Israel’s disengagement, causing civilian casualties.” He added, however, “we equally call for strict observance of international humanitarian law by Israel and its armed forces. I must state firmly that the Israeli occupation – including with respect to Gaza – carries clear obligations under international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.” He said “we are cognizant of Israel’s security concern. We also take note that Israel stressed that in using military force it does not target civilians, and claims that it takes care to avoid civilian casualties. Israel is obliged not to take disproportionate measures or to endanger civilians, and must thoroughly investigate incidents “and ensure adequate accountability.” He vowed that the UN will continue to “do everything we can to ensure that civilians are protected and assisted, whatever the political environment.”
— Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour told the council that the current situation in the Gaza Strip is “absolutely untenable, humanly unbearable and morally unacceptable.” He said Israel is creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip, heightening fears and tensions, inciting, provoking and fueling the vicious and dreaded cycle of violence, and propelling the situation on an “endless downward spiral.” The current environment, he explained, is neither conducive for the establishment of calm and stability nor for the advancement of the peace process towards its ultimate goals of peace and security for both peoples.
He wondered “how can the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip believe in a peace process and in an international community that permits their ongoing suffocation, isolation and suffering under lock and key of Israel’s occupation?” The international community, including the Security Council, he stressed, “cannot remain silent” in the face of this perilous decline of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
“We call upon the members of the international community in all arenas to shoulder their responsibilities and to urgently intervene to bring a halt to this punishment of the Palestinian people, to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, to stem the deterioration of the security situation and to salvage the fragile peace process that will surely collapse under the weight of such ongoing illegal Israeli policies and practices.
“We call upon the Security Council today to take urgent practical measures in specific to end the crisis situation in the Gaza Strip. Israel must be called upon and compelled to lift the siege, to allow for the opening of Gaza’s border crossings “Israel must be urged to pursue the path of peace in good faith and to undertake real confidence-building measures to improve the situation on the ground,” he said.
He urged the council to continue being engaged, including via the Quartet, to work to uphold the law and to implement its own relevant resolutions.
“Now is the time for real action on the part of all concerned parties in the collective drive aimed at attainment of the just, lasting and comprehensive peace that will be realized with an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian and Arab lands.
We must not lose this historical opportunity, for the alternatives and consequences will be dire and we must not continue allowing conflict, despair and injustice to prevail over peace, hope and justice,” he stressed.
Israeli counselor Gilad Cohen told the council that the international community “must make it clear that Hamas’ actions are unacceptable, and that continuing to choose Hamas will only lead to continued suffering – for both Israelis and Palestinians.” “It is up to the international community to tell those states that initiated this debate, and those states that think singling out Israel and condemning it will bring about change, that Israeli security cannot be sacrificed,” he added.
US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told the council that his government “shares the concerns of the international community about the very difficult current situation in Gaza and the plight of the Palestinian people warrants our attention.” However, he added, “we should not lose sight of how that situation came to be, nor of what we are working to achieve: that is Gaza as an integral part of a future Palestinian state.” “I want to make clear that the US will not abandon the people of Gaza. We will continue to provide humanitarian aid to help meet the basic needs of the Gazans. But we believe the current situation is the result of Hamas’ policies and actions,” especially the ongoing rain of rockets into southern Israel despite a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Strip in 2005.
“Hamas is ultimately responsible for the current situation. The US condemns in the strongest terms the ongoing firing of rockets and mortars into Israel by terror groups. These attacks on innocent Israeli civilians must stop,” he stressed.
“We expect the government of Israel, when responding to these attacks,” he added, “to take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties and to minimize the impact on innocent civilians in Gaza…We do not want the innocent Gazans to suffer.” He noted that Hamas which seized power “violently” is seeking to exploit the current situation, “a situation of its own making. The council should not fall into that trap.” He said the US also believes that the proposal by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayadh to allow the Palestinian Authority to have a role at the border crossings “could be examined.” Khalilzad later told reporters in answer to a question that the Presidential statement presented by the Arab group on the situation in Gaza is “unacceptable” to the US because it does not mention the Hamas rockets attacks on southern Israel.
— Addressing the council on behalf of the Arab group, Saudi charge d’Affaires Abdellatif Hussein Salam said “war crimes” are being committed in Gaza despite peace efforts.
What Gazans are witnessing “raises doubts about the seriousness of the negotiations” underway and which began with Annapolis Conference, he said.
He said “we call for the immediate end to the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and for the opening of the border crossings in order to allow the humanitarian goods to reach the civilian population.” He said the Arab states urge the Security Council to shoulder its political, legal and humanitarian responsibilities in an attempt to stop the aggression.
He said the Arab states also call for an international inquiry into the Israeli crimes of aggression in Gaza and for a prompt action from the Quartet which should meet its responsibilities in these circumstances.
He took the opportunity to urge the international community to step up its efforts to bring about a peaceful and comprehensive settlement based on UN resolutions and international legitimacy, mainly resolutions 242, 338, 425, based on land for peace and within the framework of the Arab peace initiative.
The council is scheduled to resume its debate later today and listen to 10 more speakers.
Diplomats said the council experts are now focusing their discussions on the draft presidential statement and no longer on the draft resolution.
Salam expressed hope the council will issue the statement later today. However, diplomats expressed doubt because any statement has to be agreed upon by all 15 council members. The US already rejected it.