The “nightmare” of weeks of conflict in Gaza underscores that only a negotiated political settlement can bring security and peace to Israelis and Palestinians, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today as he pledged to help rebuild Gaza but for the last time.
“The massive death and destruction in Gaza have shocked and shamed the world. More than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed – the vast majority civilians, including hundreds of women and children,” Ban said in his remarks to the 193-member UN body during a especially convened session on the tragic situation in Gaza here today.
Casualties on the Israeli side include three civilians as well as 64 Israeli soldiers.
“People on both sides have the right to life but also the right to a life free from fear,” Ban said.
The special session was convened even as the 72-hour ceasefire, which Ban described as one that has come at a price too much to bear, is in effect since August 5.
He said the weeks-long fighting has raised “serious questions” about respect for the principles of distinction and proportionality in international humanitarian law.
“Perhaps nothing symbolised more the horror that was unleashed on the people of Gaza than the repeated shelling of UN facilities harbouring civilians who had been explicitly told to seek a safe haven there.
These attacks were outrageous, unacceptable and unjustifiable,” he said.
Ban said while there were reports that Hamas rockets were fired from near UN premises, he stressed that mere suspicion of militant activity “does not justify jeopardising the lives and safety of many thousands of innocent civilians.
“International humanitarian law clearly requires protection by all parties of civilians and civilian facilities, including UN staff and UN premises,” he said.
Last week, 10 people were killed and 30 others injured in an Israeli attack on a UN-run school in Rafah sheltering about 3,000 displaced Palestinians.
It was the third deadly attack by Israeli military on a UN school sheltering Palestinians during the conflict that started on July 8.
Ban said UN shelters must be “safe zones, not combat zones” and attacks against UN premises, along with other suspected breaches of international law, must be swiftly investigated and those held accountable be brought to justice.
He said “The nightmare of the last four weeks has been a terrible reminder that only a negotiated political settlement can bring security and peace to Israelis and Palestinians alike,” he said adding that the “senseless cycle” of suffering in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in Israel, must end.
“Do we have to continue like this: build, destroy, and build, and destroy? We will build again – but this must be the last time to rebuild. This must stop now,” he said.
Ban said the immediate task before the international community is meeting the dire and urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza and providing care to those wounded and traumatized.
“We now face an enormous reconstruction task in the shattered rubble of Gaza where homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed and damaged,” he said urging that no effort must be spared to turn the “current calm into a durable ceasefire that addresses the underlying issues of the conflict: ending rocket fire from Gaza, weapons smuggling, opening the crossings, lifting the blockade and bringing Gaza back under one Palestinian Government that accepts and adheres to the Palestine Liberation Organization commitments.
“They must go back to the negotiating table. We must not repeat this, [from happening] periodically. Why [are] both parties putting all of the international community’s citizens always at unease and concerned, looking helplessly at many people being killed,” he said.
Ban urged the parties to heed the international community’s call to return to negotiations in order to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, ultimately through a viable two-state solution.
—PTI