At UN, Pakistan Deplores Renewed Israeli Attacks In Gaza, Urges Mideast Settlement

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Nov, 2018 ) :Voicing deep concern over the recent Israeli attacks against the blockaded Palestinians in Gaza, Pakistan has called for stepped up efforts to resolve the decades-old middle East conflict to usher in peace in the troubled region.

"Despite countless resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, the scales of justice have yet to be turned in favour of the Palestinian people," Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi lamented while addressing the UN General Assembly's Fourth Committee, which deals with special political decolonization matters.

Lack of progress towards a settlement has not only betrayed Palestinians' hopes and aspirations, it has also sowed the seeds of endless hostility and discord in the region, she said, adding that the fundamental tents of a two State solution were being systematically dismantled in full view of the international community.

"If the rising tide of violence and extremism is indeed to be reversed, this effort must begin with a just settlement of the Palestinian issue," Ambassador Lodhi said in a debate on the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.

The Pakistani envoy called the Special Committee's report another "sad chronicle of a heart-wrenching situation" for Palestinians under a prolonged occupation, with their human rights violated and their hopes of a life of dignity and freedom undermined. Palestinians' life, she said, was threatened at every turn -- arbitrary arrests and administrative detentions, including of children -- as well as collective punishment of an entire population.

"Who would know this grim reality better than the 2 million people of Gaza � besieged for the past 12 years, they have long crossed the 'livability' threshold," Ambassador Lodhi said, pointing that essential services including health and access to clean drinking water were at a breaking point.

As critical care units at Gaza hospitals struggle to survive, she said, electricity shortages have made 97% of the available water supplies unfit for drinking. In addition, Israeli settlements in the occupied territories were expanding in blatant disregard of Security Council resolutions.

Moreover, the Bedouin community of Khan Al-Ahmar has become the latest flashpoint in Israel's long standing policy of dispossessing Palestinians of their land and disrupting their lives. "This is, in fact, a calculated and deliberate process of slowly disintegrating an entire people," she pointed out.

At a time when a political settlement of the issue remains a distant ideal, however, it is heartening to note that both traditional and new donors stepped up their contributions to UNRWA, the UN agency entrusted to assist Palestinian refugees, in the wake of its unprecedented shortfall in 2018, the Pakistani envoy said, referring the cutoff of US contribution to the agency, "Through their generous support, the international community has not only helped to bridge the existing resource gap, it has also given a vote of confidence to UNRWA's role as a beacon of hope for Palestinian refugee communities across the region," Ambassador Lodhi said.

"Sufficient, predictable and sustainable financing for UNRWA is therefore, imperative to ensure the integrity of the agency's core services." As an expression of its solidarity with Palestinian brothers and sisters, she said Pakistan had made an additional contribution to UNRWA this year.

Opening the debate, the Special Committee's Chairman, Satya Rodrigo of Sri Lanka, described the continuing expansion of Israeli settlements on occupied lands, the unlawful detention of Palestinian children, the excessive force used against protesters in Gaza, the general absence of accountability, and other practices.

Often conducting demolitions under the pretext that no permits were issued for the targeted buildings, Israel's security forces demolished 213 structures owned by Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, leading to the displacement of 579 people between July 2017 and July 2018, the report indicates.

Also of serious concern to the Special Committee is the arbitrary administrative detention of Palestinians, often on the basis of secret information, he said, noting with regret that reports of child arrests are increasing.

On the situation in Gaza, he expressed particular concern about excessive use of force by Israeli security forces against demonstrations that began in March 2018 near the border fence between Gaza and Israel. The Special Committee heard that, as of 31 October, 228 Palestinians, including 43 children, have been killed.

In the context of policing demonstrations, the chairman emphasized that Israeli forces must respect international instruments pertaining to law enforcement, expressing concern over a culture of impunity.

Also concerning, he said, is Israel's tightening of restrictions on imports into Gaza in response to the launching of burning kites from the enclave into Israel, further exacerbating the electricity crisis and threatening the delivery of life saving services.