UNSC's feeble call

A toothless statement from the UN Security Council not naming the aggressor, Israel, called for Qatar's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Though it condemned the act of the Jewish state by using words such as "illegal and unprovoked aggression", it stopped short of any punitive measures. This is so despite the fact that Israel had carried out daredevil airstrikes on Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, along with the audacity to attack Hamas peace negotiators for Gaza inside Doha.

The spat, nonetheless, between Pakistan and Israel at the world body was enough to read between the lines the mentality of the aggressor as Tel Aviv drew a ridiculous analogy of Osama bin Laden's extermination at the hands of US inside Pakistan. Israeli envoy's so-called 'justification' for the attack on Qatar was rightly decimated by Pakistan by terming it as an attempt to deflect attention from its own "illegal actions and violations of international law".

The UNSC's call for de-escalation, however, will remain a half-hearted step until and unless a plan of action is there to deter the aggressor. A headway was evident as the UAE warned that any assault on a Gulf nation amounted to an attack on the "collective Gulf security framework". In the same vein, Pakistan too called for severe retribution as Israel's illegal and unprovoked act is tantamount to a threat to regional stability.

Israel's attempt to exterminate Hamas leadership in Doha is outrageous. The fact that the Zionist regime is not confronted by force from the Arab states has emboldened Prime Minister Netanyahu to once again remind that "there will not be a Palestinian state". In the same breath of arrogance, Tel Aviv went ahead to give a fresh nod to a controversial settlement expansion plan that will cut across land that the Palestinians hope would form the basis of a future state.

It is incumbent upon the UNSC to bring Israel in the dock, and make it repent for its attack on Qatar. Slapping economic and diplomatic sanctions cannot be delayed any further, if the volatile region has to heave a sigh of relief. Any further appeasement would be a prelude to a catastrophe.