Iran Blasts UN Security Council Inaction on Gaza
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has lashed out at the UN Security Council for its failure to stop Israel’s atrocities in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Addressing the ministerial meeting of the Palestine Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran on Monday, Rouhani said “the continuation of the UN Security Council’s indifference and inaction” has emboldened the Tel Aviv regime to continue its crimes against the oppressed Palestinian people in Gaza.
“The inaction and flagrant indifference of the UN Security Council toward the current catastrophe in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, is a blatant symbol of injustice in the Security Council,” said Rouhani.
He said effective measures have to be adopted to put an end to such crimes because Tel Aviv is violating human principles.
Rouhani, the rotating president of the NAM, further called on the movement to roll up its sleeves to put an end to Israeli “war crimes and genocide” in the coastal sliver.
NAM, based on its fundamental standards, should take action to stop the current trend of war crimes and genocide committed by the Zionist regime, said Rouhani.
“The Non-Aligned Movement, as an international circle with ample potential and capacities, can and should take basic and firm steps toward the realization of real peace and social justice in line with the inalienable rights of the oppressed Palestinian people,” said the Iranian president.
Rouhani further said the crisis in Gaza would not be resolved without the return of Palestinians to their homes.
Following Rouhani’s speech, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is at breaking point and people are experiencing unspeakable horrors.
He called for an arms embargo on Israel, which, he said, uses military equipment against defenseless Palestinians.
Iran seeks trial of Israeli criminals
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official says Tehran plans to pursue the prosecution of the Israeli regime for its crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza through international channels.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, along with political, diplomatic and humanitarian support [for the Palestinian people], has put legal support on its agenda to bring to justice the criminal leaders of the Zionist regime,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told the Iranian national TV on Sunday.
Amir-Abdollahian went on to say that consultations have been held with international legal experts in that regard, adding, “Among the regional and Western countries exists the potential to activate that mechanism.”
The Iranian official further said that the issue of Israel’s prosecution is expected to be put forward at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Palestine Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) currently underway in Tehran.
He also said that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad JavadZarif, whose country holds NAM’s rotating presidency, has invited the 13 members of the committee to participate in the one-day meeting.
Countries such as Palestine, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Colombia and Cuba are members of the NAM Palestine committee.
According to Amir-Abdollahian, more than 40 countries will attend the meeting at the level of foreign ministers and high-ranking delegations.
He said that the meeting is aimed at putting pressure on the Israeli regime to end its crimes against Gazans and guarantee the establishment of a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israeli warplanes and tanks have been pounding numerous sites inside the Gaza Strip since July 8. The air, sea and land strikes have so far killed over 1,820 Palestinians and injured about 9,400 others.
World denounces Israel offensive in Gaza
On the other hand, several demonstrations have been held across the world to denounce Israel’s relentless attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which have killed more than 1,800 people so far.
On Sunday, thousands of anti-Israeli protesters took to the streets in the city of Casablanca in Morocco, voicing outrage at Tel Aviv’s ongoing massacre of Palestinians.
The protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted anti-Israel slogans, calling for an end to the Tel Aviv regime’s offensive against the coastal sliver.
In Japan, hundreds of people held a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the capital, Tokyo. They held a banner printed with the names of Palestinians killed as of Saturday and demanded an immediate end to the military assaults on Gaza.
Australians also staged a protest in Sydney, with people chanting anti-Israel slogans, such as “free free Gaza” or “Israel, USA how many kids have you killed today?”
Over one thousand people also attended a pro-Palestinian rally in the Netherlands’ capital, Amsterdam, holding small coffins symbolizing Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks. Organizers played an audio recording of an explosion and protesters lay down on the ground playing dead to show the situation of the people in Gaza.
In the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, people gathered outside the UN office in solidarity with Gazans.
Similar demonstrations were also held in the Pakistani city of Lahore and the Jordanian capital, Amman.
So far, at least 1,822 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli attacks on Gaza, which began on July 8, and more than 9,400 others have been injured.
The European Union has, meanwhile, urged an end to the bloodshed in Gaza and asked both sides to the conflict to hold talks to find a political solution.
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