US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at a UN Security Council meeting in New York, once again formulated the US position and priorities regarding the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas ( recognized as a terrorist organization in the United States).
Blinken called on the international community to condemn Hamas’ crimes against Israeli civilians on October 7, as well as to condemn countries that support and finance Hamas, which is a terrorist organization; he called for the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas; He noted the need to open humanitarian corridors and provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, who should not be held responsible for the atrocities committed by Hamas; and called on the international community to prevent the conflict from expanding in the region.
The US Secretary of State expressed outrage that the international community did not express unanimous condemnation of Hamas’ actions. He recalled that on October 7, Hamas brutally killed more than 1,400 civilians in Israel; They were not only Israelis, but also citizens of more than 30 UN member countries. Hamas kidnapped more than 200 people from Israeli territory and took them hostage.
“Children riddled with bullets. Young people who were chased and shot while expressing schadenfreude. Decapitated people, young people. Entire families burned alive in each other’s arms. Parents murdered in front of their children. Children murdered in front of their parents, the US Secretary of State listed the atrocities committed by Hamas. “And so many people taken hostage in Gaza.” We have to ask ourselves: where is the outrage? Where is the disgust? Where is the rejection? Where is the open condemnation of these actions? We must recognize the right of any State to self-defense so that such horrors do not happen again. Not a single member of this Council, not a single country in the world will tolerate the slaughter of its civilians.”
Blinken reiterated that Israel has the right, even the responsibility, to defend itself. He also said that Gaza’s civilian population should not suffer for the terrorists’ crimes.
“We know that Hamas does not represent the Palestinians,” Blinken said. “And Palestinian civilians are not responsible for the atrocities committed by Hamas.” Palestinian civilians must be protected. This means that Hamas must stop using them as human targets; nothing could be more cynical. This means that Israel must take all measures to avoid harming civilians. This means that water, food and medicine must be delivered to Gaza for those who need it.”
Blinken recalled that the United States is the world’s largest humanitarian donor to the Palestinians and that the United States recently allocated an additional $100 million for this purpose.
Blinken also said the conflict must be prevented from expanding in the region. He noted that the United States does not seek direct conflict with Iran, but if Iran or its proxies harm American citizens anywhere in the world, the United States will respond decisively.
In the last two weeks, two resolutions have already been introduced in the Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But the resolutions were not adopted. The first, submitted by Russia, made no mention of Hamas at all and did not obtain the required number of votes. The second, submitted by Brazil, contained no text on Israel’s right to self-defense, so the United States vetoed it. At the Security Council on Tuesday, Blinken said the United States had submitted its third resolution to the Security Council, much of which is similar to the language of the Brazilian resolution.
Tens of thousands of civilians have suffered as a result of the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas. According to the UN, since the escalation of the conflict on October 7, Israeli bombings in Gaza have killed more than 5,000 Palestinians, including more than 2,000 children, and injured some 15,000 Palestinians. In Gaza, 40% of buildings have been destroyed. 16 UN officials were killed and 30 wounded.
As is known, as a result of the Hamas attack, more than 1,400 civilians in Israel, who were citizens of more than 30 UN member countries, were killed. Hamas took more than 200 people hostage. Four of them were released thanks to negotiations carried out by Qatar, Egypt and some other countries. At a Security Council meeting, a UN representative said Hamas reported the deaths of 22 Israeli hostages in Gaza as a result of the Israeli bombardment.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki did not mention Hamas or its attack on Israel on October 7 in his speech. Al-Maliki spoke about how Palestinian civilians suffer and how Palestinian children write their names on their hands so they can be identified if they die. Al-Maliki called on Israel to stop the bloodshed and called for peace.
“Those of you who truly want to avoid an even greater humanitarian catastrophe and escalating conflict in the region must understand that this can only be achieved by ending Israel’s war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” said the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Maliki. . – Stop the bloodshed. No amount of humanitarian aid will help if the deaths and destruction of Palestinians in Gaza continue. It will be impossible to contain tensions in our region if this reality does not change. There are many fronts open to war. And none of them are open to the world.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen recalled that the State of Israel was created after the tragedy of the Holocaust so that such a tragedy would not occur again. He compared Hamas to the Nazis. During his speech, Cohen played a recording of a Hamas militant’s phone call, presumably to his parents, in which the militant expresses pride in having killed Jews.
“What he said during this recording is that he tells his mother and father that he is proud of the blood of the ten Jews that he killed,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. -What kind of monster did they give birth to? Mr. Secretary General, this is the world we live in! We handed over Gaza to the Palestinians down to the last millimeter. There is no disagreement over the territory of Gaza! But they take the money that the international community sends them, and instead of building hospitals, offices, business centers, they take the money and dig tunnels, they build a rocket factory, not for the benefit of their citizens.”
Cohen demanded the immediate release of all hostages and called on Qatar to continue assisting in the process.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres intervened at the Security Council meeting, who, despite the intensification of the conflict, expressed the UN’s commitment to its two-state solution and affirmed that Israelis have the right to peace. and security, and the Palestinians have the right to a sovereign state.
This Security Council meeting took place on UN Day. The Charter of this organization came into force 78 years ago, whose purpose since its founding has been to protect peace and security on the planet.
