The Arab Group at the UN on Friday called on UN Security Council to invoke Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, to force Israel to comply with the ceasefire resolution adopted on March 25, and allow unimpeded humanitarian access to all civilians.
According to Arab News, the permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the UN and the chair of the Arab Group for the month of April, Abdulaziz Al-Wasil, said that the Arab Group’s call aims to “ensure that Israel, the occupying power, would abide by a ceasefire, and to give access to humanitarian aid and put an end to the evil aggression on the Palestinian people and provide protection for them.”
His remarks came amid an emergency meeting of the Security Council, called for by Algeria, supported by Guyana, Switzerland and Slovenia, to discuss the risk of looming famine in Gaza and the Israeli forces attacks against humanitarian aid workers.
Last Monday, an Israeli airstrike claimed the lives of 7 aid workers, including foreigners, working for World Central Kitchen charity organization in central Gaza. The Israeli military targeted their three-vehicle convoy, which clearly displayed the organization’s logo.
Al-Wasil strongly condemned this “war crime”, calling for Israeli authorities to be held accountable for it. He said that “this incident is simply more evidence to be added to the record of the violations perpetrated by the Israeli occupying power against humanitarian aid workers.”
“This is a dangerous precedent that violates all international rules and customs and charters,” he added.
He stressed that “starvation is being used as a weapon in this crisis, as the Israeli occupation continues to close crossings and prevent the entry of food, water, medicine and fuel, and it targets Palestinian citizens when they attempt to reach food aid.”
Al-Wasil called for an international investigation into the incident, saying that “this massacre is further damning evidence of the genocide that the Israeli occupying government is pursuing in its military operations in Gaza.”
In a similar vein, Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of Coordination, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said “the events of the last week alone are evidence of the unconscionable brutality of this conflict. It is clear there is no protection of civilians in Gaza.”
Rajasingham warned that “Gaza is teetering on the edge of famine,” after WCK and one other aid organization at least had to suspend their operations in Gaza due to the lack of protection for aid missions.
During the Security Council session, Janti Soeripto, President and Chief Executive Officer at Save the Children USA, said that, to date, 203 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza. She added that “more children have been killed in this conflict than in all armed conflicts globally over the past four years.”
She urged the UNSC to pass a permanent ceasefire resolution, stressing that “Member States must stop fueling the crisis with the weapons they are selling to the parties of conflict.”
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, over 32,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, more than 75,000 injured and 75% of the population have been forcibly displaced.
The UN Security Council recently adopted a ceasefire resolution during the month of Ramadan, following two sperate resolutions demanding Israeli authorities to lift restrictions on humanitarian workers and to allow aid delivery to starving civilians in Gaza.
Chapter 7 of the UN Charter gives the Security Council the power to order military action and non-military measures, to ensure the implementation of its resolutions and to restore international peace and security.
