Palestinian prime minister pleads to end ongoing conflict in Middle East

By Nur Asena Erturk

The Palestinian prime minister pleaded Thursday for an end to the ongoing Mideast conflict.

"We have to bring an end to war, we have to bring an end to the occupation in Gaza, and to the displacement of the local population," Mohammad Shtayyeh said at an international conference on humanitarian aid for the besieged enclave hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

"The Palestinian people need international protection in Gaza, in Jerusalem, and the West Bank," Shtayyeh said, and called urged the international community "to distance itself from this policy of double standards."

"No one can justify killing children," he said,

He noted Palestinian people's suffering did not start Oct. 7 but 75 years ago and wished that the the international courts would adopt a "clear stance to judge the criminals."

The prime minister also noted that "international humanitarian law has to be applied to all.”

"We have to take the appropriate measures which will bring an end to these crimes being perpetrated against the Palestinian people," he said.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7.

At least 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women, have been killed. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.

Basic supplies are running low for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents due to an Israeli siege, in addition to a large number of casualties, massive displacements, and thousands of buildings destroyed.

Some Western countries are being accused of setting a "double standard" for not valuing Palestinian civilians' lives as much as Israeli civilians.