Russia accused the United States of colluding with Israel in the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today, Wednesday, in a regular session of the Security Council that he chaired on the situation in Palestine, “The United States is complicit with Israel in the bloodshed in Gaza... If the United States stops its support for Israel, the bloodshed will stop, but it does not want or It can do so, and seeks military maneuvers to score more points during the election campaign.”

During the session, Lavrov spoke about the Security Council resolutions on Gaza, stressing that bloodshed is still continuing in all the occupied Palestinian territories, and that the resolutions remain a dead letter. He continued, "What is happening in Gaza is collective punishment that is completely unacceptable. This liquidation of the Strip, the most crowded place in the world, which is called the largest open prison in the world, has been going on for months."

Lavrov: Shocking statistics regarding the number of casualties in Gaza

The Russian Foreign Minister added: "The military operation led by Israel with its American allies shows horrific statistics about the number of casualties and destruction." He talked about forty thousand dead and ninety thousand wounded, most of them women and children, in addition to the spread of diseases, epidemics, widespread hunger, and the targeting of schools, hospitals, and humanitarian workers.

He added, "The Gaza Strip has once again become the only conflict zone in the world where people are not allowed to flee. This is what the Secretary-General of this organization said in 2009 when he was the High Commissioner for Refugees, and nothing has changed since then. Rather, the situation has worsened." He also pointed to the deteriorating situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, settler violence and the increase in settlement activity.

Strong criticism of the United States

The Russian Foreign Minister directed strong criticism at the American side, saying, “The current explosion of violence in the Middle East is the result of failed American policies in the region, which the representatives of the United States have been talking about for ten months, telling us that we must withdraw so that they can carry out their individual efforts. "They used their veto repeatedly to prevent a comprehensive ceasefire."

He added, "When Resolution 2728 was adopted, which included stopping the fighting during Ramadan, they declared that this resolution was not binding... Then we had the shameful Biden plan, which the United States intended to accept before Israel announced its commitment to it. Israel implicitly rejected it, and it is not interested, even an iota, in peace. As we heard today from its representative.”

He referred to the Quartet and the United States' obstruction of its efforts, and his country's support for the involvement of Arab and Islamic countries in those efforts. He accused the United States of obstructing these efforts and burying them under the rubble of the "Deal of the Century." He pointed to the colonial past of Western countries in the region, including the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which still casts a shadow over the region to this day.

In addition, the American representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, spoke about “Israel and Hamas agreeing on a framework for a ceasefire that was adopted by the Council, but there are gaps that we must close and the Council must continue to pressure Hamas to accept the deal contained in the resolution and begin implementing it.” unconditional". She believed that the negotiations were “moving in the right direction,” stressing the need for Israel to take the necessary steps to increase the volume of aid. The American official condemned the settlement activities and settler violence. i

For his part, the Chief of Staff of the United Nations Secretary-General, Courtenay Rattray, warned that the humanitarian support system in Gaza is close to complete collapse. His statements came before the UN Security Council, on behalf of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The UN official pointed out that nearly two million Palestinians, the vast majority of Gaza's population, have been displaced more than once, stressing that "nearly half a million people face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity. Infectious diseases are on the rise." He pointed to the continuation of "attacks on humanitarian relief workers and shelters, as well as raids on or near health and humanitarian facilities."

The UN official warned of a further deterioration of the situation in the West Bank and Jerusalem, pointing out that Israeli policies "are working to undermine the Palestinian Authority, paralyze the Palestinian economy, and increase instability." He pointed to the Israeli Cabinet’s approval “of a series of punitive steps against the Palestinian Authority, including the legalization, under Israeli law, of five Israeli settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, the development of thousands of settlement housing units, and demolitions in parts of Area B in The occupied West Bank.

Palestine delegate: Israel has violated all principles of humanity

For his part, the Palestinian delegate, Riyad Mansour, said that Israel “uprooted every tree in Gaza, violated every rule of humanity, killed women, children, men, journalists, doctors and others, ignored every international body, including the United Nations and the International Court of Justice... and committed crimes against It will be made public without hesitation, and its soldiers will publish recordings of these crimes for the world to see. This will record what is happening in Gaza as the largest genocide in history.” The Palestinian delegate wondered how long the world will continue to condemn crimes without taking the necessary steps to stop them? He added, "What is the use of international law if it is not implemented?"

The Palestinian diplomat accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, referring to Israel’s claims that its siege and war on Gaza are related to security, “so that it can escape punishment for the worst crimes imaginable, as if its security is what legitimizes genocide, colonialism, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.” . He spoke of Israel's colonial nature, which is "clearly visible and claims that every war will be the last war."

Then he monitored the various successive Israeli wars against the Palestinian people after the Nakba, including the setback, the invasion of Lebanon, the first and second intifadas, bone-breaking policies, and successive wars on Gaza without let up and without any real international deterrent. He pointed out that Israeli leaders simultaneously denied the existence of Palestinian land and people.

He spoke about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's indifference to "any international law, hostages, or human dignity. He only cares about his political survival... So what are you going to do so that he is not the one controlling us all? What are you going to do to stop this madman from his war and genocide?" Collectivism against the Palestinian people?

He also talked about the pressure exerted by Israel against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and its war on the right of Palestinian refugees to return. He concluded by saying: "Our people will live in dignity and freedom on the land of their ancestors and will not accept anything less." As for the Israeli delegate, he focused most of his intervention on Iran, and accused it of being behind all the escalation taking place in the region.

Source: Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed