Speaking at the UNSC, Russia’s envoy laments the civilian losses in Gaza, calling the Israeli strikes a flagrant violation of international law.
Russia views the Israeli strikes on civilian targets in the Gaza Strip as shocking violations of international law, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said.
“We are shocked and deeply outraged that the targets of the strikes are civilian objects,” Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council meeting on Friday. “We emphasize that the deliberate strikes against civilian objects represent an egregious violation of international humanitarian law.”
Nebezia further added that there are no safe zones left in Gaza amid relentless Israeli strikes.
“The mosques [that came under attack a while ago] are located in the south of the Gaza Strip, which confirms that there are simply no safe zones for civilians in the enclave anymore,” Nebenzia affirmed.
Blaming the US policy on Gaza for the ongoing escalation and its blocking of peace initiatives, Nebenzia said, “Washington’s blocking of peace initiatives for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip at this point and its one-sided policy of the past few years, aimed at preserving the status quo (which is what they [the Americans] said), as well as it’s so-called quiet diplomacy, in fact were nothing but an unwillingness to implement what countries and nations had agreed on.”
“The lack of any progress in the negotiation process was sure to lead to an escalation,” he added, stressing that “this in turn may trigger an expansion of the conflict and fuel other potential and simmering conflicts in the region.”
The Russian envoy stressed that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian struggle “should in no way involve attempts to drive the Palestinian people from their homeland.” A real solution to this “long-standing issue” should be based on international law, Nebenzia concluded.
Source: AlMayadeen
