By Palestine Chronicle Staff
China’s UN Ambassador Geng Shuang. (Photo: VoaChinese, via Wikimedia Commons)
“Had the US not shielded one side time and again, multiple resolutions of this Council would not have been flagrantly rejected and defied.”
Questioning the UN Security Council’s inability to stop the “human tragedy” unfolding in Gaza, China’s UN Ambassador Geng Shuang has laid the blame squarely on the United States for vetoing “multiple resolutions” of the UNSC demanding an immediate ceasefire in the enclave.
“Over the past year, despite strong joint international calls for a ceasefire and the cessation of killings, Israel has not halted its military operations, which have led to the death of over 41,000 Palestinian civilians. This is alarming. This is past belief,” Shuang told the UN Security Council on Monday.
He pointed out that the Security Council “has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security,” adding, “But why has it been unable to stop this human tragedy, the worst of its kind to this day?”
“As the analysis point out, had the United States not stood in the way on all those occasions, the Council could have adopted a resolution demanding a ceasefire early on after the conflict erupted,” Shuang stated.
“Had the US not shielded one side time and again, multiple resolutions of this Council would not have been flagrantly rejected and defied,” he added.
‘Take Tangible Actions’
Shuang urged the US to “show a responsible attitude” and use the “significant influence” it holds over Israel “and take tangible actions to push Israel to cease its military operations without delay, as demanded by the Council resolutions.”
The ambassador also emphasized as “heard from the briefers,” that despite the four resolutions “adopted by this Council,” the ICJ orders on provisional measures, and “the huge efforts of the UN and other humanitarian agencies, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has been constantly worsening, and violations of international law, in particular, IHL (international humanitarian law), have persisted non-stop.”
Last month, China’s envoy to the UN urged the US to “take sincere and responsible actions to push Israel to stop its military operations in Gaza as soon as possible and to stop slaughtering civilians.”
In a statement to the UN Security Council Briefing on the Middle East, Ambassador Fu Cong condemned Israel’s targeting of “civilians and the civilian infrastructure” saying “This is a red line under the international humanitarian law.”
He highlighted an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Tabaeen school in central Gaza a few days before which killed over 100 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured dozens more.
‘Biggest International Problem’ – Russia
Also on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Gaza is currently the “biggest international problem” and called for an immediate end to the bloodshed, the Anadolu news agency reported.
In a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdel Aaty, in Moscow, Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s support for any steps towards halting the conflict as soon as possible as well as backing for measures to establish lasting peace in Gaza.
He pointed out that while the United Nations Security Council is putting forward initiatives to resolve the crisis, these efforts are obstructed by the US, the report said.
Russia and Egypt have cooperated at the Security Council to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, he added, warning against neglecting the situation in Gaza at the UN level.
Israel continues to flout a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and faces international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
Over 41,000 Killed
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,252 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 95,497 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(PC, Anadolu)
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