UN: Pakistan renewed its vehement condemnation of Israeli airstrikes and military action in Gaza at a tense U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday, saying that more significant civilian casualties in the Palestinian territory might lead to a “wider and more dangerous” confrontation. Ambassador Munir Akram made the statement during a high-level discussion on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine that was attended by the 15 members of the Council. “Pakistan calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” he added.
The Pakistani representative told the meeting, which featured 86 speakers from nations and regional organizations, including more than 20 ministers, that continuing the Israeli campaign in Gaza would result in additional significant civilian casualties and could start a wider and more dangerous conflict. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres began the discussion by stating that the situation “is growing more dire by the hour” and reiterating his need for a quick humanitarian truce.
The Palestinian people have been under 56 years of oppressive occupation, during which time they have seen their land devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced; their homes demolished; and their hopes for a political solution vanish. Guterres said in reference to the Hamas attacks against Israelis in border towns on October 7 that they “did not happen in a vacuum.” He said that Hamas’s attacks could not, however, be used as an excuse for punishing the Palestinian populace as a whole.
Israel’s ambassadors responded angrily to the secretary-general’s critical remarks. Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, demanded that he “resign immediately” both in a tweet and in person at the stakeout outside the Security Council. Eli Cohen, the foreign minister of Israel, also tweeted that he would not be attending today’s bilateral meeting with the head of the UN. Reporters at the stakeout were informed by Ambassador Erdan that the UN head was “justifying terrorism” when he stated that the Hamas attacks “did not happen in a vacuum” in his address to the Council.
In response to inquiries regarding the tweet from the Israeli Foreign Minister, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that the Secretary-General would meet with family members of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. He also stated that they would be accompanied by a representative of Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN. Ambassador Akram expressed Pakistan’s complete solidarity and support for its Palestinian brothers and sisters in his remarks to the Security Council during these difficult and heartbreaking times.
Ambassador Akram expressed Pakistan’s complete solidarity and support for its Palestinian brothers and sisters in his remarks to the Security Council during these difficult and heartbreaking times. More than 5,000 people have died and 15,000 have been injured as a result of Israel’s relentless and indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza over the past 17 days, according to the Pakistani envoy, who “strongly and unequivocally” condemned Israel’s airstrikes and military actions in Gaza, particularly its attacks on schools, homes, and hospitals.
He added, “Those responsible for these atrocity crimes must be held accountable. These Israeli attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructure, blockade of water, food and fuel, as well as the forced transfer of people from the occupied territory, are flagrant violations of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes. Ambassador Akram expressed sorrow about the Security Council’s inability to call for a truce. He remarked that people who help this battle continue bear a great deal of responsibility in this regard.
The Security Council failed to approve two earlier draft resolutions last week that dealt with the Middle East’s escalation. A Brazilian plan was rejected by the United States, while the first proposal, from Russia, calling for an immediate halt to hostilities, was rejected for lack of support. The US government protested because it failed to acknowledge Israel’s right to self-defense, even while it called for humanitarian pauses to allow for aid access. The Pakistani envoy declared that any attempt to falsely equate Israel, the occupying force, with the Palestinians, who are the victims of this occupation, was politically, morally, and legally unacceptable.
He demanded that the Council reject Israel’s plans to remove the Gazans, whether inside or outside of Gaza, saying that doing so violates international humanitarian law. He asserted that under international law, the fight for national freedom and self-determination by those living under foreign domination is legal and cannot be compared with terrorism. The Pakistani representative remarked, “It is the suppression of this struggle, which is illegal,” noting how colonial governments have historically labeled national liberation groups as terrorist organizations.
He claimed that “some members of this Council have offered protection to their allies who are repressing occupied peoples in Palestine or Kashmir.” “States have the right to self-defense against attacks on their sovereignty and territorial integrity under the UN Charter. A State, however, cannot use the “right to self-defense” against those whose territory it has unlawfully invaded if it is occupying a foreign area through force.
The continuation of Israeli occupation won’t result in peace in the Holy Land, said Ambassador Akram. A secure, sustainable, contiguous, and sovereign state of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital will be established on the basis of the pre-June 1967 boundaries, in accordance with the internationally recognized two-state solution. The majority of speakers throughout the day-long discussion expressed concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and emphasized the necessity of allowing water, gasoline, and medicine to reach the besieged territory.
Many delegates emphasized the pressing necessity to reaffirm the two-State settlement and stop a regional conflagration. However, the speakers’ focus differed, with some vehemently proclaiming Israel’s right to defend itself against an existential terror threat, while others criticized the embargo and the strikes’ apparent lack of discrimination and urged for the observance of international law. The State of Palestine’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Riad Al-Maliki, pleaded with the Council and the international community to stop the continuous murders carried out by the occupying Power, Israel, against the civilian people of Palestine.
The Security Council must stop them, it is their responsibility. He emphasized that the 15-member body must call for a ceasefire, ensure access for aid workers to all areas of Gaza, put an end to forced evictions, offer the Palestinian people international protection, and achieve justice through accountability.
