Algeria calls on UN security council to probe Gaza slaughter
Algeria has requested the UN Security Council to send an investigative mission to the Gaza Strip to collect information in a bid to stop Israel’s genocide, according to the New Arab and agencies. The call coincides with the US threatening to sanction the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants for both Benjamin Netanyahu and a number of Hamas officials.
It is largely seen as a token gesture given that the US exercises it veto on such major decisions concerning Israel. Moreover, Moscow has also supported a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to investigate every death of humanitarian workers in Gaza and mass graves of Palestinians in the strip, which will ensure that the Algerian request will be rebuffed.
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“Regarding the situation in the Middle East, including Palestine, we urge the Security Council to act urgently to stop the genocide crimes in Gaza,” said Nasim Kouaoui, the Algerian envoy to the United Nations, during an open session of the Security Council on May 20th.
Algeria and Slovenia requested the session to discuss developments in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Over 1.2 million Palestinians displaced from elsewhere in Gaza have been sheltering in Rafah.
According to the UN’s report, more than 810,000 people have had to relocate from the city of Rafah in the past two weeks, crowding into other parts of the besieged coastal enclave without access to basic hygiene and infrastructure.
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The latest wave of displacement in Gaza began in early May when Israel issued evacuation notices and launched military operations in Rafah, along the border with Egypt.
More than half of the enclave’s civilians had sought refuge in the city after fleeing Israel’s offence elsewhere in Gaza multiple times.
“The Zionist entity is carrying out a genocide in the Gaza Strip, which could lead to further violations of international law and more mass crimes,” added the Algerian envoy. “The time for talk is over; it is time for action.”
New Arab/agencies
