British Ambassador Barbara Woodward, the Security Council President for the month of November, opened a Security Council meeting on Monday on the current situation in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
In Gaza, ordinary Palestinians are facing a profound humanitarian crisis amid attacks by Israeli military operations, bombings and sieges. Aid is not reaching them as per the demand arising on a large scale.
The Special Coordinator said the terrorist attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups inside Israel on 7 October 2023, the hostage-taking of people and their continued detention in intolerable conditions caused great suffering in Israel.
Subsequently, the protracted war and devastating Israeli military crackdown in Gaza resulted in high Palestinian casualties and widespread destruction.
Tor Vanesland told the representatives of the member countries that the situation we are living in is the result of a long test of the very fragile situation that prevails here.
Unimaginable pain
According to him, the Middle East region is standing at a dark crossroads in the shadow of the terrible war and bloodshed that has been going on in Gaza for the past one year. “We are living in a nightmare. “The trauma and pain that has been caused is unimaginable.”
The Special Coordinator stressed that humanitarian organizations are facing enormous challenges and dangerous situations in carrying out their work and aid operations. Humanitarian aid convoys have been attacked by Palestinian armed groups and the Israeli military, and the issue remains unresolved.
Tor Vannesland warned that the situation in Gaza at the beginning of the winter season is catastrophic, especially in northern Gaza where almost the entire population has been displaced, following the destruction of local areas and land clearing in disregard of international law.
According to the Special Coordinator, laws against the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) have been approved. Attempts are being made to destroy the institutional framework that supports ordinary Palestinians, which is likely to worsen the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
concerted effort
He said, in the long term, the Israeli military presence in the Gaza Strip must be stopped by any means. “Gaza is an integral part of a future Palestinian state and must remain without reducing its territory.”
“There can be no long-term solution to Gaza that is not fundamentally political.”
At the same time, the governance of Gaza and the West Bank must be overseen by the Palestinian Authority, and all efforts for recovery must be based on the pursuit of a two-state solution.
According to Tor Vanesland, Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank continues unabated. The Israeli government has taken several steps to speed up the process, and some ministers have even called for a formal land grab.
He reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and concerted diplomatic efforts to reduce conflict and tensions in the Middle East region.