Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the observer State of Palestine to the United Nations, said the Security Council should have called a ceasefire by now.

The UN Security Council voted last night in favor of a draft resolution presented by the Malta UN mission calling for humanitarian pauses and safe corridors in the Gaza Strip, with 12 voting in favor and three abstaining.

‘We want to save lives,’ Mansour told the UNSC after the vote. ‘This resolution is a small step in the right direction, a small step towards a ceasefire, we want a ceasefire. We will not relent, we will not stop until we see the accomplishment of the resolutions and an end to Israeli barbaric attacks.’

The Council “should have heeded the call by the UN and every humanitarian organization on Earth calling for a humanitarian ceasefire,’ said Mansour. ‘It should have at least echoed the call of the General Assembly for an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities.’

What is happening will
have long-term effects that no one should underestimate, he said.

‘It is a failure of humanity of terrifying magnitude,’ he said. ‘But for now, the urgency is to save lives. Stop the killing, stop the forced displacement, allow humanitarian aid in and ensure humanitarian access, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.’

He said Israel’s plan has been revealed in statements, leaked memos, and op-eds.

‘Let us stop pretending we don’t hear what this government is saying,’ he said. ‘Its plan is the continued dispossession, displacement and denial of rights of the Palestinian people. To complete the Nakba. This madness must be brought to an end,’ he said.

‘The Council is finally acting today on a humanitarian resolution focused on children. If we are going to talk about the condemnations missing from the resolution, let me remind you of the following: The resolution did not condemn the racist and disgusting Israeli propaganda methods mocked around the world and which constitute an insult to our intellige
nce. It did not condemn the arbitrary imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians, men, women and children, nor called for their immediate and unconditional release. It did not condemn the assault on hospitals and schools. It did not condemn the killing by Israel of UN staff, journalists, humanitarian personnel, doctors, rescue teams. The resolution did not condemn the killing by Israel of 11,000 Palestinians, overwhelmingly civilians, including 5000 Palestinian children. It did not condemn the indiscriminate attacks by Israel,’ said Mansour in reaction to the head of the US mission who criticized the resolution for not condemning the October 7 attack on Israel.

Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA