UNITED NATIONS, The past ten days have witnessed a \u201cdangerous and horrific\u201d surge in deadly violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), particularly Gaza, the UN chief told the General Assembly on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of children in Gaza,\u201d Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said, expressing deep shock at the continued air and artillery bombardment by the Israeli troops in Gaza that has so far claimed the lives of more than 200 Palestinians, including 60 children, and injured thousands more.<\/p>\n
He also called \u201cunacceptable\u201d, the indiscriminate rocket fire towards Israel by Hamas \u2013 which controls the enclave \u2013 and other militant groups that has resulted in at least 12 deaths.<\/p>\n
Appealing to all parties to \u201ccease hostilities\u201d, the UN chief underscored: \u201cThe fighting must stop immediately\u201d.<\/p>\n
He painted a grim picture of damaged civilian infrastructure in Gaza, closed crossings, power shortages affecting water supplies, hundreds of buildings and homes destroyed, hospitals impaired and thousands of Palestinians homeless.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fighting has\u2026forced over fifty thousand people to leave their homes and seek shelter in UNRWA (the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees) schools, mosques, and other places with little access to water, food, hygiene or health services,\u201d lamented the top UN official.<\/p>\n
He said he was \u201cdeeply distressed\u201d by damage to the UN facilities, upholding that \u201chumanitarian installations\u201d were \u201cinviolable\u201d, including during armed conflict.<\/p>\n
Guterres said he was working on releasing cash from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), and the UN\u2019s relief chief intended to release $14 million from the Humanitarian Fund for the Occupied Palestinian Territories.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccess for humanitarian goods is paramount. Attacks by militant groups on areas surrounding crossing points are unacceptable\u201d, the Secretary-General added.<\/p>\n
He also stressed that \u201crapid and unhindered access for humanitarian aid\u201d must be allowed into Gaza.<\/p>\n
Rules of war preserve \u201cfirst and foremost\u201d the protection of civilians, said Guterres, urging Israel to abide by those governing armed conflict and to \u201cexercise maximum restraint\u201d in its military operations.<\/p>\n
He also appealed to Hamas and other militant groups to stop indiscriminately launching rockets into Israeli\u2019s civilian population \u2013 a clear violation of international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no justification\u2026for the abdication by the parties to the conflict of their obligations,\u201d the UN chief said.<\/p>\n
Concerned over violent clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, Guterres urged Israel to \u201ccease demolitions and evictions\u201d in the OPT, including East Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll settlement activities\u2026are illegal under international law\u201d, he reminded, and also stressed that the status quo at Holy Sites must be \u201cupheld and respected\u201d.<\/p>\n
The UN chief warned that if the violence spread beyond Israel and the OPT, it could create an environment \u201cripe for exploitation by radicals and extremists\u201d, which should be prevented \u201cat all costs\u201d.<\/p>\n
He told the ambassadors that he and other UN officials were undertaking \u201cextensive diplomatic efforts within the region\u201d to encourage all sides to halt the violence.<\/p>\n
Guterres called on the international community to do everything in its power to enable the parties to \u201cstep back from the brink\u201d and on the parties themselves to allow mediation efforts to intensify to \u201cbring the fighting to an end\u201d.<\/p>\n
Reminding that today\u2019s \u201chorrific events\u201d must be viewed in the context of \u201cdecades of military occupation, political deadlock, grievances and hopelessness, and a failure to address the core issues at the heart of the conflict\u201d, the UN chief called a revitalized peace process \u201cthe only route to a just and lasting solution\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Secretary-General encouraged the parties to replace \u201canger and disillusionment with hope for a future in which both Palestinians and Israelis live side by side, in peace and security\u201d.<\/p>\n
General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir echoed the calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza urging the parties to \u201cstep away from the brink\u201d.<\/p>\n
Noting that the \u201cQuestion of Palestine\u201d is the longest standing issue on the UN peace and security agenda, he said the occupation, compounded by political impasse and lack of negotiations, was \u201cthe main underlying source of instability and perpetuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n
To move forward, he reminded that the UN\u2019s institutional record prescribed a swift return to negotiations with the goal of ending the occupation; addressing all status issues, including that of Jerusalem; and achieving two independent, sovereign, viable states: \u201cIsrael and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace, security and mutual recognition\u201d.
\nBozkir called for the Security Council to speak with \u201ca unified voice\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Security Council must shoulder its responsibilities and overcome yet again its paralysis on the longest-standing item\u201d, he spelled out, warning that its inaction hindered the UN\u2019s \u201cability and credibility\u201d on other peace and security matters.<\/p>\n
While commemorating the Organization\u2019s 75th anniversary, member states had recommitted to upholding international peace and security.<\/p>\n
\u201cYet when it comes to Israel and Palestine we are clearly failing,\u201d said the Assembly President. \u201cI call on both sides and the international community to take real steps to stop the vicious cycle of violence and to end the occupation. To defend human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, The past ten days have witnessed a \u201cdangerous and horrific\u201d surge in deadly violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), particularly Gaza, the UN chief told the General Assembly on Thursday. \u201cIf there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of […]<\/p>\n
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