'Would you sit back and do nothing?' Security Council
Photo: AP
Gazan boy
Photo: AP
Israeli, Palestinian envoys trade charges at UN
'Current situation in Gaza absolutely untenable, humanly unbearable and morally unacceptable,' Palestinian observer says during Security Council session. Israeli envoy to member states: What would you do if London, Moscow, Paris or Tripoli were attacked?
Israeli and Palestinian envoys traded accusations of blame in the UN Security Council on Tuesday for the recent wave of violence in Gaza, which threatens to torpedo a fragile Middle East peace process.
Israel said it shut all Gaza border crossings on Friday in response to Palestinian rocket attacks. On Tuesday, Israel resumed fuel supplies to Gaza's main power plant, offering limited respite from the blockade that plunged much of the Hamas-ruled territory into darkness and touched off international protests.
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"The current situation is absolutely untenable, humanly unbearable and morally unacceptable," Riyad Mansour, the permanent Palestinian observer to the United Nations, told a hastily scheduled session of the Security Council.
"The Israeli policy of brinkmanship is creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, heightening fears and tensions, inciting, provoking and fueling the vicious and dreaded cycle of violence," he said.
Israeli envoy Gilad Cohen rejected Mansour's accusation that Israel had provoked the violence and was acting in violation of international law.
"It is the duty of all states to ensure the right to life and safety of its people, especially from vicious acts of violence and terrorism," Cohen told the council.
"I ask each member of the council—what would you do if London, Moscow, Paris or Tripoli was attacked and fired on? Would you sit back and do nothing? I am certain that no member ... Would be silent," he said.
'Collective penalties illegal'
Behind the public debate, members of the 15-nation Security Council were considering a draft statement on Gaza circulated by Libya, the council's president for January.
The text, seen by Reuters, expresses "deep concern" about the situation and calls on Israel to ensure the free flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, but makes no mention of the rocket attacks against Israel. Western diplomats said the text would have to be revised to make it more balanced.
In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would press ahead with peace talks with Israel but "continue in our efforts to see this siege fully lifted." He reiterated his view that rocket fire from Gaza was "pointless."
UN Undersecretary-general for political affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, told the council that the violence in Gaza had abated, but he warned council members that the humanitarian situation remained fragile for the territory's 1.5 million people, most of whom rely on foreign aid.
Pascoe added that "collective penalties" for an entire population were illegal under international law.
Israel has imposed strict curbs on non-humanitarian supplies to Gaza since it was taken over by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in June.
