Iran urges UN to take swift action to support Palestine, end Israel crimes

A senior Iranian diplomat has strongly criticized the United Nations’ silence on the Israeli regime’s crimes, saying the world body must act immediately to support the Palestinian people.   

Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir Saied Iravani made the remarks while addressing a UN Security Council open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, on Wednesday.

“Sympathy alone is not enough,” he said.

He added that the Israeli regime’s oppressive, expansionist and apartheid practices against Palestinians continued unabated in 2022, and the Palestinian people, particularly women and children, are facing severe poverty and violation of their basic rights.

The Israeli regime has committed atrocities in the occupied Palestinian territories without accountability for more than 70 years, he said, stressing the importance of fully recognizing, upholding and protecting the Palestinian nation’s right to self-determination. 

But long as the Security Council remains silent, this is impossible to do so, Iravani added.

The Security Council is duty-bound to remain committed to the UN Charter and maintain international peace and security, he noted, emphasizing that it should use all legal channels to hold the Israeli regime accountable for all the crimes it is committing.

The Iranian envoy said the Israeli regime’s incursion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound earlier this month violated the mosque’s sanctity and worship rites and was a brazen provocation of Muslim feelings. 

“This illegality and recklessness have serious consequences that should not be underestimated,” he said, noting that if not properly addressed, it can further destabilize an already fragile situation and endanger regional and international peace and security.

On January 3, far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the holy site of al-Aqsa Mosque through the Moroccan Gate, also known as the Mughrabi Gate, sparking widespread condemnation.  

OIC condemns Israeli aggression on al-Aqsa, urges UNSC to ‘act urgently’

The OIC has warned against the continued Israeli aggression on al-Aqsa Mosque following Ben-Gvir

Hardline Israeli legislators and extremist settlers regularly storm the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied city, a provocative move that infuriates Palestinians. Such mass settler break-ins almost always take place at the behest of Tel Aviv-backed temple groups and under the auspices of the Israeli police in al-Quds.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli regime enables the Jewish visitation of al-Aqsa despite the fact that an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds in 1967 prohibits non-Muslim worship at the compound.

Iravani further emphasized that the UN silence on Tel Aviv’s crimes will only encourage the regime to continue its occupation of the Palestinian territories and intensify its brutal aggression against Palestinians.

He added that Iran is responsible to support the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to resist the oppression and violence of the racist Israeli regime in accordance with Palestinians’ right to self-determination, emphasizing that it will be Tehran’s permanent position until the end of the occupation.

Israeli forces have launched raids on various cities of the occupied West Bank almost on a daily basis under the pretext of detaining what they call “wanted” Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.

Palestine calls on ICC to complete probes into Israeli crimes, hold regime accountable

The Palestinian foreign ministry has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to complete its ongoing investigations into Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has marked 2022 as the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in 16 years.

Israeli forces killed at least 171 Palestinians in the West Bank and occupied East al-Quds in 2022, including more than 30 children. At least 9,000 others were also injured.

Reacting to fresh Israeli crimes, the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement said in a statement on Friday that it holds Israel accountable for its continued crimes and violations against Palestinians and reaffirms that the occupying regime’s acts of aggression will not go unnoticed.

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