Saudi FM: UN Security Council ‘complacent’ about loss of Palestinian lives

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has condemned the UN Security Council's silence on the Palestinian issue as “unacceptable,” saying the Security Council is “complacent” about the loss of Palestinian lives. He called for measures to stop the Israeli “bloodshed” in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan made the remarks during a Tuesday high-level meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the war in Gaza. The meeting was hosted by Brazil, which holds the rotating presidency of the council this month. Attendees included UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and representatives of more than 85 nations.

Bin Farhan said his country, alongside “friendly and brotherly nations,” has made every effort to achieve those goals and end the cycle of violence.

“The Palestinian people are suffering under the blockade and the ongoing escalation of the Israeli war machine,” he said.

He warned that Israel continues to “target civilian facilities, schools, hospitals, infrastructure. They have claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, including women, children and the elderly. They have injured thousands of civilians.”

“The failure of the international community, to this very day, to end this collective punishment by the Israeli occupation forces against the residents of Gaza, and their attempts to forcibly displace them, will not bring us any closer to security and stability,” the senior Saudi diplomat stated.

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Aid agencies warned that a humanitarian catastrophe was unfolding in the besieged enclave.

“We hold this meeting under painful circumstances, following dangerous developments in the Gaza Strip that claimed the lives of thousands of civilians,” Prince Faisal said, warning of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe and dangerous repercussions for the security of the region and the world.

He said the council’s silence on the Palestinian issue has been “ongoing for decades” and is unacceptable.

“This council bears the responsibility of its complacency, the cost of this crisis, the losses of lives and property, and the threats to the security and stability of the region,” the Saudi foreign minister noted.

“Maintaining international peace and security is at the forefront of the functions of this council. However, today we see that it is unable to carry out its role. It is late in reaching a resolution that would address this crisis, as Israel continues with its violations of international conventions, including international humanitarian law. This casts doubt on the credibility of the mechanisms of international legitimacy,” Prince Faisal said.

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He urged the international community to take a firm stance on ending the Israeli raids on Gaza, preventing the conflict from escalating, protecting civilians, and ending the blockade on the territory so that aid, including medicine, food and water, can reach those in need.

The prince lamented the double standards and “selectivity” in the application of UN rules and resolutions, warning that the lack of accountability for the ongoing escalation risks fueling “further violence, further destruction — it will lead to further extremism.”

He also laid the blame for the ongoing cycles of violence on failure to implement UN resolutions and underscored the need to acknowledge the root causes of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Failure to do so, he went on, will hamper any chances of reaching a durable solution to the conflict and bringing peace and security to the region.

Israel launched the devastating war after the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups staged Operation al-Aqsa Storm, a surprise attack on the occupied territories, in response to the Israeli regime’s intensified crimes against the Palestinian people.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the Israeli aggression against Gaza has so far killed at least 5,795  people and left over 18,000 others wounded.

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