GCC countries condemn Gaza violence and call for humanitarian truce
The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council condemned the violence in the Gaza Strip and the aggression against the innocent population by the Israeli occupation forces, as a breach of international law, international humanitarian law and the principles of the Geneva Convention of 1949, which bind Israel as an occupying authority to protect civilians in times of war.
This was stated in a speech made by First Secretary Khalid bin Saleh Alrabkhi, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Sultanate of Oman to the United Nations in New York, on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The speech was made during an emergency special session of the General Assembly on the subject “Illegal Israeli actions in East Jerusalem, the occupied territories and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory”.
The speech said that the fact that the UN Security Council has been unable to take any unified position on what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories, specifically in the Gaza Strip, and the aggression carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against innocent and peaceful residents, is a matter of concern to all and should be condemned by the international community.
The failure to pass a UN Security Council resolution effectively accepts a siege, starvation, collective punishment, cutting off water and electricity supplies, and preventing access to the most basic necessities of living, it added.
The speech continued that the United Nations has said that more than 6,500 Palestinian citizens have been killed in the Gaza Strip so far, including 2,300 children, 1,200 women and a number of international employees working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The numbers of wounded and injured have reached around 17,000.
The speech on behalf of the GCC stressed that what is happening today in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable, but that thiswill not deter the Palestinian people from demanding their legitimate rights, foremost of which is their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The statement added that the truth is clear to all and nothing will change it.
It said that the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council agreed with comments by the Secretary General of the United Nations that what is happening today in the Gaza Strip today did not come out of nowhere. The Palestinian people have been subjected to a stifling occupation for 56 years during which they witnessed their land being eaten up by illegal settlements, added the speech.
The statement also affirmed the full confidence of the GCC countries in the UN Secretary General and their support for his efforts to uphold the principles of the UN Charter, international law, and international humanitarian law. It sent the condolences of the GCC countries to the United Nations over the UN employees who have lost their lives in this war on the Gaza Strip.
The speech said that the GCC countries support international law, international humanitarian law and the resolutions, of the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice. The speech said the GCC countries also support the Arab Peace Initiative calling for a just and comprehensive peace that establishes a new phase of peaceful coexistence for all peoples in the Middle East,
The speech said that the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council are therefore calling on all member states to vote in favour of the resolution submitted by Jordan, calling for an immediate ceasefire, the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, an end to the Israeli siege, the restoration electricity and water supplies, and an end to any plans to forcibly displace the civilian population.
Later in the UN General Assembly's session, the resolution submitted by Jordan on behalf of the Arab Group, was adopted by 120 votes to 14 with 45 abstentions.
This is an unofficial English version of an Arabic report. To view the official Arabic text, click here.