NEW DELHI, Oct 10: Zaman Mehdi, the deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, slammed Israel over the ongoing conflict with the Hamas group while addressing the members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
“The so-called declaration of war and attacks on the civilian population and their properties is deeply distressing. We remain concerned about the human cost of the escalating situation,” said Mehdi as a representative of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declared a “state of war” after Hamas launched around 5,000 rockets from Gaza in one of the biggest attacks on Israel in years. The UNHRC members also observed a moment of silence on Mehdi’s request to mourn the loss of lives in “the occupied Palestinian territory and elsewhere.”
“We request to observe one minute’s silence for the loss of innocent lives, including women, children and the elderly. It is also an occasion to remember victims of decades of foreign occupation in the occupied Palestinian territory. I request you all to stand for one minute to honour those victims,” said Zaman Mehdi while making his request.
Backing Palestine, Zaman Mehdi said the ongoing conflict is a “sad reminder of more than seven decades of illegal foreign occupation, aggression and disrespect for international law, including UNSC resolutions.” He further said, “Efforts to normalise and perpetuate illegal foreign occupation are breeding violence.” He also urged the implementation of the two-state solution to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“There is a need for immediate steps to ensure the realisation of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and also achieve a just two-state solution on the borders of June 4th 1967 with East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine,” said Zaman Mehdi.
(Manas Dasgupta)