صراط عشق صراط عشق
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana’ani welcomed the United Nations Security Council’s resolution on the Gaza war, but stressed that it would be insufficient for civilians living in the Palestinian territory under Israel’s relentless bombardment and total siege.
After several days of delays and weakened language that did not call for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, the UNSC on Friday passed a resolution on more aid for the besieged enclave, prompting a backlash from Tehran as well as several aid agencies and human rights organizations.
“It is highly regrettable that 77 days into Israel’s strikes on Gaza, the US government still blocks the passage of a binding resolution at the UNSC to stop the war and put an end to the Zionist regime’s war crimes and genocide in the besieged strip,” Kana’ani said in a statement on Saturday amid international calls to bring the months-long conflict to an end.
The diplomat added the dispatch of aid consignments to the blockaded enclave is practically “impossible” amid ongoing Israeli bombings of Gaza, where more than 60% of residential buildings and urban infrastructure have been destroyed.
The spokesperson stressed that remarks by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres following the vote also attest to this bitter reality.
The resolution merely called for steps “to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities”, and was adopted on Friday with 13 votes in favour, none against, and the United States and Russia abstaining.
The original draft called for “an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” and gave the UN increased control over aid deliveries into Gaza. The adopted resolution opts for less equivocal language on a ceasefire and maintains Israel’s control over all relief.
More than 20,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed since the start of the war in early October. More than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, and conditions under Israeli siege and bombardment have been described by the UN as “hell on earth”.
Earlier this month, the US vetoed a UNSC resolution calling for a ceasefire, and was one of the few dissenting votes when the UN General Assembly passed a ceasefire resolution by an overwhelming margin last week.
“The adoption of the resolution does not absolve the UN Security Council of its responsibilities. The US administration is still primarily responsible for the continuation of attacks and war crimes by the Israeli regime against the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank,” Kana’ani continued.
