Palestine's UN envoy invites those 'who have spine' to visit Gaza Strip, demand cease-fire

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Palestine's envoy to the UN on Thursday reiterated his call for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and invited the UN Security Council members to witness firsthand the "horror" endured by Palestinians.

Speaking at a Security Council session on Palestine, Riyad Mansour said he calls on "all those who have spines to come and say we are coming to demand a cease-fire and to demand it now in the Gaza Strip."

"Gaza does not need more paralysis and death. First by bombs and bullets, now combined with occupation-sponsored famine and disease, Gaza has witnessed life destroyed. It needs life to be restored, and it needs it right now," Mansour said.

Describing the collapse of essential services under the ongoing Israeli assault, he said: "The Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have witnessed and felt in their flesh, the planned collapse of all the requirements of life."

"Israeli government does not care about even its own citizens... It cares more about killing Palestinians than it cares about saving Israelis," the envoy said.

He reminded of US President Joe Biden's remarks about the need for a "minimum of 600 truckloads of humanitarian assistance to enter the Gaza Strip on a daily basis," and asked the council: "Who is stopping you from implementing this?"

"There is no excuse for the Israelis' continued killing of innocent Palestinian civilians, of kids, of babies," he stressed, and asked the council again: "How much longer are we going to fail them?"

Mansour further highlighted the Palestinian leadership's plans to pursue further action at the UN, including a push for the implementation of the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on ending the Israeli occupation.

"We are going to initiate another action to put an end to this illegal occupation as soon as possible," he stated.

"The time for waiting is over. The time for action is now," he added.

He called on the UN Security Council to fulfill its mandate to maintain international peace and security, and reminded the members that they "are entrusted with the maintenance of international peace and security. Stop the bleeding in Gaza, impose an immediate cease-fire, stop the suffering, protect our children and all our civilians as international law and our collective humanity demand."

Meanwhile, Israel's new UN envoy Danny Dannon called Mansour "a terrorist in a suit" and claimed that if the Palestinian envoy would not condemn Hamas, then he is one of them.