Calls to stop aggression.
Translation by Ibrahim Ebeid
Gaza: The government media office spokesman in Gaza called on the international community to take “immediate and effective” action outside the framework of the “obstructionist” Security Council to stop the “brutal” Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.
This came in a statement commenting on the use of its veto power in the Security Council to abort a new draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, despite the support of the other 14 countries in the Council.
In the “strongest terms”, the press office condemned the use of the United States’ veto power against the draft resolution drafted by Algeria and submitted by the ten non-permanent members of the Council.
He pointed out that “he was demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire and ensuring unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, which is facing a comprehensive humanitarian catastrophe and an ongoing crime of genocide at the hands of the Israeli occupation.”
With the absolute support of the United States, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and displacement, ignoring international calls and orders by the International Court of Justice to stop it.
The genocide left about 180,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced people and famine that claimed many lives, including children.
Calling the US veto “disgraceful,” the press office called it “a new stain on the moral record of the United States.”
“It clearly expresses full alignment with the Israeli killing machine and direct political support for war crimes committed against Palestinian civilians, especially children, women, the sick, and the elderly.”
Trying to justify the veto, acting US Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea said Wednesday evening: “We will not support any measure that does not condemn Hamas. Any decision that undermines the security of our close ally Israel is totally unacceptable,” she claimed.
The press office considered that the “(American) justifications and pretexts can only be understood in the context of legitimizing genocide, supporting aggression and justifying starvation, destruction and mass murder.”
This represents “a flagrant violation of all international norms and conventions, and a flagrant challenge to international humanitarian law, UN resolutions and the principles of justice and equity”, he said.
He stressed that the US veto “is a direct contribution to the ongoing crime of genocide (…) It confirms Washington’s role in obstructing any international efforts to stop the aggression against the civilian population and save the lives of more than 2.4 million Palestinian people trapped in the Gaza Strip, deprived of food, water, and medicine under the barrage of bombing and starvation.
For 18 years, Israel has besieged Gaza, and some 1.5 million Palestinians have been left homeless after the genocidal war destroyed their homes.
On the other hand, the press office praised “the positions of the countries that supported the draft resolution.”
He called on the international community, the United Nations, and human rights and humanitarian organizations to “take immediate and effective action outside the framework of the Security Council, which is blocked by the US veto.”
He added that this move aims to “save the lives of innocent people in the Gaza Strip, impose an immediate and comprehensive cessation of the brutal Israeli aggression, ensure a safe and adequate flow of humanitarian aid, and hold the occupation accountable for its ongoing crimes against civilians.”
Last November, Washington vetoed a draft resolution on Gaza, arguing that the demand for a ceasefire was not directly linked to the immediate and unconditional release of Israeli prisoners.
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 58 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, including 20 alive. At the same time, more than 10,400 Palestinians suffer from torture, starvation, and medical negligence, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Of the 15 members of the Security Council, only five are permanent members: the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China.
The ten non-permanent members of the Council are Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia.
