UN Security Council Paralyzed in Face of More U.S./Zionist War Crimes in Palestine
Rescue workers recover
remains of executed aid workers
The massacre by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) of 15 aid workers in Gaza on March 23, now proven to be a deliberate and unjustified mass execution, was brought before the UN Security Council on April 3 by Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"I am appalled by the recent killing of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers, which raise further concerns over the commission of war crimes by the Israeli military," said Türk. He also pointed out that the temporary relief granted by the ceasefire "has been shattered."
Even before Israel definitively smashed the Ceasefire Agreement on March 17, it had carried out various military operations breaching the ceasefire. Between March 17 and April 10 alone, when the Israeli military restarted operations in Gaza, the Ministry of Health in Gaza informs that the IOF had killed 1,522 Palestinians, including more than 300 children, and wounded 3,834. The total figures since Israel began its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023 are 50,886 killed and 115,875 wounded.
Bombardments of residential buildings, tents, hospitals and schools continue, including places where Palestinians have been ordered to move.
Decrying the Israeli military's complete blockade on vital aid and supplies to Gaza, Türk underscored: "The blockade and siege imposed on Gaza amount to collective punishment and may also amount to the use of starvation as a method of war." He also noted that, as of April 2, the World Food Programme (WFP) had to shut its 25 bakeries in Gaza due to a severe lack of fuel and flour -- leaving many without access to bread. Reuters reported on April 10 that after six weeks of Israel's blockade of Gaza, the WFP will soon no longer be able to even provide distribution of food parcels at reduced rations.
In addition to the documented crimes already taking place, Türk said that inflammatory rhetoric by senior Israeli officials regarding seizing, dividing and controlling territory "raises grave concerns about the commission of international crimes."
Regarding the West Bank, Türk called the situation "extremely alarming." He said that the announcement by Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz that displaced residents must not return to their homes for a year "raises serious concerns about long-term mass displacement."
He went on to say that the collective punishment of the Palestinian people cannot be justified, no matter what took place on October 7, 2023, and urged immediate restoration of the ceasefire in Gaza. "There is a high and increasing risk that atrocity crimes are being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," he warned.
The representative of Algeria on the Security Council noted that earlier on April 3, Israeli air strikes targeted a school sheltering displaced people, killing dozens of civilians, and that the day before, the bombing of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) clinic killed 22 others. He emphasized the result if the Council does not act: "The world -- our constituency -- will no longer respect neither the Council nor its deliberations."
The representative of Pakistan, recalling the Council's many meetings on this issue, observed that the Palestinian people "are left questioning whether this body will take meaningful steps, or merely lament their suffering."
"Our failure not only undermines this institution, but also erodes the international order based on the UN Charter," he added.
Sierra Leone's representative underscored that "respect for international law is not optional." He stressed that settler violence is part of a broader crisis that must be addressed immediately.
The representative of Slovenia said, "We cannot choose to believe these were simply mistakes." "Intentionally directing attacks against personnel involved in a humanitarian-assistance mission is a war crime and must be prosecuted accordingly," he added.
Regarding claims by the IOF that its deliberate massacre of humanitarian workers was a "mistake," China's representative pointed out that their bodies were later found in a mass grave, close to damaged vehicles with humanitarian markings. He called for accountability and opposed the use of humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip.
Denmark's representative stressed: "Humanitarian assistance must never be used as a political tool." She also expressed support for an independent investigation into the killing of Red Crescent staff, observing that for the third time "within less than a week" the Council has debated the protection of humanitarian personnel.
The representative of the Russian Federation noted that the ambulances involved in that incident were all clearly marked. He also remarked on the April 2 Israeli strike on an UNRWA medical centre serving as a shelter for more than 700 people. "Hope for the situation changing for the better is almost non-existent," he said.
Interventions of those complicit with Israel's genocide, including several Permanent Members of the Security Council, equated the illegal occupation and the legal right to resist occupation.
The representative of France, Council President for April, spoke in his national capacity to urge the release of hostages, but did not hold Israel to account for its repeated breeches of the ceasefire.
The U.S. representative leveled various spurious accusations against the Palestinian Resistance, including that its demand that Israel stick to the ceasefire to which the latter had agreed is what led to Israel's renewed assault on Gaza.
After Council members had their say, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine took the floor to emphasize: "Enough occupation, enough wars -- we need a ceasefire now."
Israel not only completely blocks humanitarian aid but also ensures that civilians are denied all assistance, he said. Pointing to the recent execution of Red Crescent workers, bombing of an UNRWA clinic and strike against a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, he stated that Israel wants to make clear that "the only alternative to death is displacement out of Gaza." Israel's objective, he stressed, is not releasing the hostages -- it is "stealing Palestinian land."
Israel's representative, with utter disregard for the truth, said that his country is the victim and is always persecuted when it defends itself. He went on to give Israel's self-serving explanation as to why its killing of humanitarian workers was totally justified.
Council rules permit him to speak in this way.
The last main intervention was from the representative of Libya, speaking for the Arab Group. He said that the crisis has reached its peak. Making statements and "selecting words" is of no use, he said. The massacre of Red Crescent aid workers was committed deliberately, and then their bodies were thrown into a mass grave to cover up the crime.
Stressing that the occupying power is committing genocide, he underlined the need for a ceasefire and the subsequent delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Further, he warned Council members against becoming "accomplices" in the suffering of the Palestinian people.
(With files from UN Security Council, CNN, Reuters. Photo: UN News)
This article was published in
Volume 55 Number 6 - April 11, 2025
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2025/Articles/TS55064.HTM
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