UN SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS EMERGENCY MEETING TO DISCUSS ISRAELI AGGRESSION IN PALESTINE

NEW YORK, April 4 (Bernama-WAFA) -- The United Nations Security Council held a special session on Thursday evening to discuss the escalating Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, under the agenda item concerning the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, Palestine News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed grave concern over the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza, stating that it could amount to the use of starvation as a method of warfare.

He also voiced his shock over Israel’s recent killings of 15 medical and humanitarian workers in Gaza, which he said raised further concerns about potential war crimes committed by the Israeli army.

Turk called for an independent, swift, and thorough investigation into these incidents, stressing the need to hold accountable those responsible for any violations of international law.

In his briefing to the UN Security Council, Turk highlighted that there is nowhere safe to go in Gaza amid ongoing Israeli bombardment. Furthermore, half of the territory is now under mandatory evacuation orders or has been declared a no-go zone.

Turk condemned the comprehensive Israeli siege on Gaza, stating that it constitutes "collective punishment" and may be tantamount to using starvation as a war tactic.

He emphasised that the blockade on vital aid and supplies, including food, water, electricity, fuel, and medicine, is severely harming all residents of Gaza. "We are witnessing a return to the collapse of the social system that existed before the ceasefire," he said.

Turk also expressed deep concern over "inciteful rhetoric" by senior Israeli officials regarding the seizure and annexation of land and the potential transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza.

He warned that such actions raise serious fears of international crimes and violate the fundamental principle of international law against the acquisition of territory by force.

Turk voiced concern about the situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where more than 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced and entire refugee camps have been destroyed. He reported that illegal settlement expansion "remains relentless," with some Israeli ministers calling for "Israeli sovereignty" over the occupied territories.

He urged for an immediate return to the ceasefire, for unrestricted humanitarian access to all parts of Gaza, and warned of an "increasingly grave risk of horrific crimes being committed in the occupied Palestinian territories”, according to WAFA.

Turk reminded the Security Council that, under the Geneva Conventions, states are obligated to act when serious violations of international humanitarian law are committed.

He further stated that, under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, states parties are responsible for taking action to prevent such crimes when the risk becomes evident.

-- BERNAMA-WAFA