UN Security Council denounces Israeli military attack on humanitarian workers

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN Security Council criticized the Israeli army Thursday for firing on a World Food Program (WFP) vehicle repeatedly at a checkpoint, resulting in the organization temporarily halting staff movement in Gaza.

"We are alarmed by yesterday's (Wednesday) reports that the IDF fired repeatedly on a WFP vehicle," US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Robert Wood said during a session at the Council.

Informing the Council that Israel has told the US that "it is investigating this most recent incident, which their initial review has said was a result of a communication error between IDF units," Wood said the US urged Israel "to immediately rectify the issues within their system that allowed this to happen."

Expressing concern over the Israeli military’s firing on the vehicle, he said "Israel must not only take ownership for its mistakes, but also take concrete actions to ensure the IDF does not fire on UN personnel again."

He further demanded that all attacks and threatening rhetoric against UN and other humanitarian organizations stop, as it places "humanitarian actors under increased risk both in Gaza and globally."

Wood also noted the importance of a polio vaccination campaign that will take place in Gaza and demanded Israel to "avoid further evacuation orders during this period."

"The bottom line is that humanitarians on the ground, including UN agencies and other NGOs, must be provided the space and security conditions to distribute vaccines," he said.

He further highlighted the necessity of a cease-fire deal in Gaza and urged all member states to contribute to efforts to achieve it.

James Kariuki, the UK’s envoy to the UN, similarly noted the importance of the polio vaccination to be carried out successfully and demanded for all vaccination sites to be protected.

He denounced Israel's evacuation orders and said they are "causing more chaos again, leaving Palestinians with no safe place to turn."

"Israel must minimize evacuation orders and provide sufficient notice of at least 48 hours," he said, adding that Israel's attacks on UN and aid convoys is "appalling and unacceptable."

Citing the incident with the WFP vehicle, Kariuki said that "Israel must take immediate steps to protect aid workers, and if its personnel are responsible for incidents, hold them accountable. All parties must abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law."

On the West Bank, the UK envoy denounced the escalation of violence and echoed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's call for de-escalation.

Meanwhile, China's envoy at the UN, Geng Shuang, also demanded an "effective" vaccination campaign, urging Israel to act in a "responsible manner."

He strongly denounced Israel's actions in the West Bank and said it "continues to violate international law and Council resolutions."

"Its settlements continue to grow, and it ramps up searches, arrests and raids against Palestinians," he added.

Citing Israeli officials' remarks about displacing people from the West Bank, Geng said China is "shocked and seriously concerned by such extreme remarks that risk global condemnation."

"Gaza has now turned into hell on earth. We must never allow the same humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza to happen in the West Bank, which will turn the West Bank into another hell on earth," he said.

He strongly opposed rhetoric that raises tensions and demanded Israel to "exercise restraint and prevent further escalation."

"China urges Israel to immediately stop all military operations in Gaza, open all border crossings, stop its suppressing and restriction of the UN and other humanitarian organizations, stop its attacks on the West Bank, and curb settler violence and impunity," he added.

- Heated exchange between Russian, American envoys

Russian envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy also expressed concern over the Israeli army attacking the WFP vehicle.

He highlighted the "deteriorating" situation in the West Bank and called on the international community to demand Israel to end attacks on humanitarian aid workers and conduct an investigation to identify the perpetrators.

Polyanskiy recalled Russia's draft resolution for a cease-fire in October last year and noted the US’s vetoes of other draft resolutions calling for a cease-fire.

"It was the US desire to monopolize the Middle East peace process and to reshape it to reflect a template beneficial to Israel. That is specifically what resulted in the tragic events which we are all presently bearing witness to," he added.

Wood then countered Polyanskiy’s comments, saying that Russia "contributes nothing to resolving the conflict in Gaza."

The Russian envoy hit back at the US envoy, saying "we have become accustomed to the US in all incidents trying to place all blame on others to shift the blame."

He called US cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas "completely fruitless" and said "the cost of your words and of your delays" is thousands of Palestinians killed.

Wood countered again by saying that the US is "working and has worked harder than" Russia to end the Gaza crisis and added that "my recommendation to you and your government would be, if you're going to contribute something positively, then contribute it. If not, you should be quiet."