UNSC Has Not Lived Up to Expectations as Peace Guarantor in Gaza: Palestinian Envoy

The United Nations Security Council has not matched its role of the world's guarantor of peace as it has failed to stop the war in Gaza, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told Sputnik.

"Unfortunately the Security Council up until this moment has not lived up to expectations from all of us, from humanity, of being the custodians of maintaining peace and security," Mansour said.

He suggested that the United Nations Security Council members should bear their main responsibility and work towards a resolution of the conflict in Gaza.

"The Security Council was unable to shoulder its responsibilities by stopping this war. The first thing that the Security Council is supposed to do is to call for a ceasefire, stop the killing of civilians, stop the war, and then to deal with all the issues that come after that," Mansour stated.

According to the diplomat, Palestine appreciates the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' position on the Gaza conflict, however, the aid is not sufficient.

"We appreciate the position of the Secretary-General, who is calling for a humanitarian ceasefire immediately. Now. And he also said that the Gaza Strip is becoming a graveyard of children and that crime has to be stopped. We appreciate these statements [...] As suggested by the Secretary-General, of the scale of a minimum of 100 truck loads per day, we need more than that, but a minimum of that," he said.

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On Thursday, the Senior US State Department official David Satterfield, explained that 100 trucks carrying aid are able to access Gaza daily. However, the aid flow, he added, only meets the population's "minimum requirements."

The Palestinian ambassador added that Israeli attacks against the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, requiring his resignation over remarks about Hamas' attack on Israel are reckless and disconnected from reality.

"Those attacking him, the only ones, are Israel and [...] they are completely detached from reality. He is the Secretary-General of the UN and he represents the moral power of the UN to stop wars, save civilian human lives. He is doing that when it comes to the Palestinian people [...] Those who are trying to criticize his job and request his resignation are alone, they are totally isolated, they are reckless, they are schemers," Mansour stated.

Israel has called on Guterres to step down for saying that the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, which left 1,400 dead, did not happen in a "vacuum."

In addition, the UN envoy stressed that Palestine wishes that the US Congress to end its support for Israel so that the fighting can continue.

"Congress, which is providing Israel with limitless amounts of weapons and financial support, would encourage the current Israeli government to continue this aggression. We wish that they wouldn't encourage aggression, but encourage them to stop the war and to move in the direction of peace [...] But they are responsible for their decisions. Logic would say if you want peace and to stop the fighting, you don’t provide the tools to encourage one party to continue the war," he added.

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The UN Security Council has so far failed to adopt any resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict. There have been four attempts since the conflict erupted in early October, but the drafts tabled by Brazil, the United States and twice by Russia did not pass.

The only response of the United Nations to the conflict is a non-binding Jordanian resolution that was adopted by the General Assembly on October 26. The resolution calls for an "immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce" between Israeli forces and Hamas militants and urges a "continuous, sufficient and unhindered" provision of humanitarian supplies to civilians in Gaza.

On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel from Gaza. The next day, Israel launched a retaliatory military campaign with the goal of eliminating Hamas and imposed a complete blockade on Gaza, home to some 2 million Palestinians and cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel. On October 27, Israel launched a large-scale ground incursion inside the Gaza Strip to eliminate Hamas fighters and rescue the hostages.