Palestinian UN Representative's Remarks on Gaza Hostages and International Law

Call for Immediate Ceasefire

• 🎯 The Palestinian Representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, calls for an immediate and continuous ceasefire in Gaza, emphasizing its role in saving lives, releasing hostages and prisoners, and enabling humanitarian aid.
• 💡 He highlights that calls for a ceasefire have been echoed by the Palestinian people in Gaza and families of hostages.

Condemnation of Israeli Actions

• ⚠️ Mansour condemns Israel's actions, accusing them of starving an entire civilian population, shooting at those seeking food, and holding 2 million people captive under siege.
• ⚖️ He criticizes Israel's demand for a stance against starvation and inhumane treatment while allegedly perpetrating these acts against Palestinians.
• 💔 The representative details the deaths of Palestinian prisoners due to torture or medical neglect and mentions alleged rape and humiliation by Israeli jailers.

Rejection of Selective Outrage and Justification

• 🗣️ The speech rejects the notion of selective outrage, stating that the killing of civilians and children is unacceptable in all circumstances, regardless of nationality or faith.
• 🚫 Torture and ill-treatment of captives are deemed unacceptable and cannot be justified in some cases and condemned in others.
• 🎭 Israel's narrative of a "war of civilization against barbarism" is criticized as a justification for its own alleged barbaric acts.

Appeal to the Israeli People

• 🕊️ Mansour appeals to the Israeli people to question their government's actions, which he describes as atrocities, and to choose peace over continuous war.
• 🛑 He states that neither what Israel did before October 7th nor what Hamas did on October 7th justifies harming civilians.

Path to Peace and Two-State Solution

• 🗺️ The speech advocates for ending the illegal occupation and achieving a just and lasting peace through the realization of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
• 🤝 An international conference co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France is highlighted as charting an irreversible path to peace, with Palestine endorsing its declaration while Israel boycotted it.
• 🌍 Recognition of the state of Palestine is presented as support for Palestinian rights and peace, aiming for an independent Palestine living side-by-side with Israel based on UN resolutions.