“BLEEDING HEART OF PALESTINE”
“Gaza today is the bleeding heart of Palestine,” Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour said last week during the Assembly’s first debate on the resolution.
“The images of our children burning in tents, with no food in their bellies and no hopes and no horizon for the future, and after having endured pain and loss for more than a year, should haunt the conscience of the world and prompt action to end this nightmare,” he continued, calling for an end to the “impunity”.
Israel, meanwhile, has denounced the draft resolution ahead of the vote.
“If you truly want peace, it begins with dismantling this infrastructure of hate and the glorification of terror,” Israeli UN ambassador Danny Danon said, in reference to humanitarian agency UNRWA, whose employees were accused by Israel of assisting with the Oct 7 attacks.
The draft resolution seeks to address “the need for accountability” by asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to present “proposals on how the United Nations could help to advance accountability”.
An earlier draft seen by AFP aimed to establish an international mechanism to help investigate and prosecute those who are responsible for violating international law against the Palestinians. But that language was not included in the draft resolution that will be put to a vote.
A second draft resolution up for a vote on Wednesday will call on Israel to respect the mandate of UNRWA and allow it to continue its “safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance” operations, after Israel voted to ban it.
The ban, which is due to take effect on Jan 28, sparked global condemnation, including from key Israeli backer the US.
