A senior Pakistani diplomat has warned that the UN Security Council was failing to provide relief to the Palestinians who continue to suffer in occupied territories from deadly Israeli bombings, starvation, displacement and collective punishment, as he sounded a clarion call for action to redress the situation.
"What is happening before our eyes is a travesty — It is unacceptable — the Council must act," Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Council which met again in emergency session on Thursday to discuss the worsening situation in occupied Palestinian territories.
"We cannot be part of a body that remains a mere spectator and does nothing; We refuse to be part of this moral bankruptcy, and 'erosion of humanity'," he said in an emotionally-charged speech.
Algeria — with the backing of Pakistan, China, Russian and Somalia — convened the meeting in the wake of the recent discovery of a mass grave in Gaza - in which the bodies of 15 humanitarian workers were interred,
The ongoing grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza and beyond reflects the Security Council's inaction, which is setting a dangerous precedent, Ambassador Asim insisted.
Given the impunity with which Israel is violating all norms of civilized conduct including UN Security Council resolutions, ceasefire agreement, international law, UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions, the Palestinian people are left questioning whether the Security Council will ever take meaningful steps or merely be confined to lamenting their suffering.
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