The Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, has urged the UN Security Council [UNSC] to act against what he described as Israel's ongoing annexation of Palestinian land under the guise of security operations.
Mansour on Thursday warned that failure to act would deepen Palestinian despair and reinforce perceptions that the world is abandoning them.
"Now the Palestinian people, they wonder if impunity will ever end, if their lives will ever matter enough to trigger an appropriate reaction," he said.
He cited the desperation of a Palestinian child who, after witnessing the bombing of his home, shouted at a cameraman: "What the hell are you filming? What for? Nobody is looking at us."
Mansour stressed that Israel is prioritising territorial expansion over the release of hostages, saying "Israel's true objective is not the release of the hostages but stealing Palestinian land."
He pointed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks about "seizing territory" and splitting Gaza into pieces for annexation.
Mansour also condemned statements by Israeli officials that he said revealed plans for the forced displacement of Palestinians.
"Israeli leaders in parallel continue taunting and taking every action to advance so-called voluntary migration, the codename for the forcible transfer of Palestinians," he said.
'The killing and the occupation must end'
He lamented the lack of effective international pressure on Israel and stressed that "it is mind-boggling that such outrageous confessions to such terrifying crimes that have been taking place for such a long time with such an impact on millions of Palestinian civilians can still go unanswered."
The Palestinian envoy further hit back at Israeli envoy Danny Danon's claim about Hamas members using vehicles belonging to the Red Crescent.
Dannon also insisted that Israel has "no intention to stay in Gaza," but Mansour countered this by pointing to Netanyahu’s recent statement saying that the Israeli military had "switched gears" to seize territory in Gaza.
"I don't think the speaker on this other side has the credibility to judge others about bravery. His government and forces, their hands dripping with the blood of tens of thousands of Palestinians, including 17,000 plus children, do not have the moral authority to judge anyone," he said.
Danon responded by arguing that there would be no future for Palestinians if they continued to resist.
Mansour dismissed this, saying: "When you stop killing our children and our people in this unprecedented number like in Gaza and imprisoning since 1967 over a million Palestinians, then there will be a chance for me to believe you. But your actions speak otherwise."
"The killing and the occupation must end to pave the way for a two-state solution, living side by side. Then there will be an opening for peace. But your conduct does not qualify you," he added.
Mansour stressed that there is no "partner for peace" from the Israeli side and demanded the Israeli envoy to "clean up your act through action, not through empty words. Then you might qualify to be a peace partner."
