Palestine’s UN ambassador issued a strong rebuke of the high-powered UN Security Council (UNSC) for failing to stop the genocide in Gaza after the U.S. vetoed a ceasefire proposal for the fifth time on Wednesday, questioning whether the council has decided that it is acceptable to sacrifice Palestinian lives.
“There is no right to mass killing of civilians. There is no right to starve an entire civilian population. There is no right to forcibly displace a people. And there is no right to annexation. This is what Israel is doing in Gaza. These are its war objectives,” said Palestinian Ambassador Majed Bamya in an impassioned speech before the council.
On Wednesday, the U.S. used its power as one of five permanent members of the UNSC to veto a resolution that would have demanded a ceasefire, release of captives held by the Israeli military and Hamas, and a return of all Palestinians to their areas of Gaza.
After the vote, Bamya rebuked the council for allowing the genocide to continue, even as member states — including the U.S. — have condemned the civilian suffering in Gaza at the hands of Israeli forces.
“Two million people displaced. Still hunted, even when they are in tents. Total destruction of Gaza and all the requirements of life in it. And war on Lebanon, its people and its sovereignty,” Bamya said. “What does it mean to proclaim all these principles, ‘we reject, we reject, we reject,’ and then shield Israel of the consequences of its actions?”
Watch the powerful and strong statement by Ambassador Majed Bamya pleading for an end to Israel’s genocide and to save the Palestinian people and nation, after the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. pic.twitter.com/1wmzXlUzHk
“Maybe for some we have the wrong........