Debate convened by the Security Council on the crisis in the Middle East. Photo: PL.
Cuba's First Deputy Foreign Minister Gerardo Peñalver called this Wednesday on the UN Security Council to end collective punishment in Gaza, describing the situation in the Palestinian enclave as catastrophic.
“It is time to stop Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. “We reiterate our unequivocal call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to bellicose rhetoric,” the vice chancellor said on the second day of the body’s open debate on the crisis in the Middle East.
The Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations also considered it essential to mobilize urgent humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip under the coordination of the United Nations in order to address the catastrophic situation in the area.
Peñalver called on the United States government to end the paralysis of the Security Council, which must fulfill its mandate to put an end to Israel's collective punishment of the Palestinian population and the escalation of violence and massacres in Gaza.
He stressed that the Security Council cannot remain inactive in the face of Tel Aviv's illegal annexation policies, all its colonization practices and its apartheid system, which have persisted in the occupied Palestinian territories for more than seven decades.
The Cuban representative supported the call for Palestine to be admitted as a permanent member of the United Nations, as well as the initiative to urgently convene a peace conference under the auspices of the United Nations focused on safeguarding the inalienable rights of this people.
He reiterated Cuba's proposal to urgently deploy an international protection mission to Gaza, approved by the General Assembly, to ensure the safety and protection of civilians and to facilitate the delivery of emergency humanitarian assistance.
Cuba's first deputy foreign minister called for Israel's complete and unconditional withdrawal from the Syrian Golan and all occupied Arab territories, as well as a cessation of aggression against Syria. He also condemned military attacks by the United States and its allies against Yemen, which violate international law.
“Acts of this kind encourage the expansion of war and genocide in the Gaza Strip. “Violence is not the solution to conflicts in the Middle East,” he emphasized.
Peñalver also condemned the terrorist attack reported earlier this month in the Iranian city of Kerman during the commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.
(Taken from Prensa Latina)