JAKARTA: Indonesia is calling on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to make no exceptions in upholding international law and bringing Israel to accountability over atrocities in Gaza.
The question of Palestine is being discussed at the UNSC as it hosts an open debate from January 23 to 24, the third such event since Israel started its bombardment of the Gaza Strip in October last year, martyring at least 25,700 people and displacing about 2 million people.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of Indonesia to stand with Palestine during the debate as she reminded the UNSC of its mandate not to tolerate wars, especially genocide.
Marsudi said that Israel must be held accountable for its actions, including atrocities in Gaza Strip. No country is above the law.
She said that the UN Charter is clear. The UNSC resolutions are binding and must be enforced. Where must Palestine go when the council fails to act on its own resolutions for decades, while Israel kills Palestinian people with impunity?
In December, the council passed a resolution on more assistance for Gaza and called for measures to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities, after several postponements and reported compromise in the language that would not be rejected by the United States, which previously vetoed another UNSC resolution demanding for an immediate ceasefire.
Israel ignores UNSC’s resolutions
Though the council’s resolutions are legally binding, Israel and other nations have ignored them in the past.
Israel has allowed only limited amounts of assistance into the besieged enclave, where 2.2 million Palestinians are facing dire shortages of water, food, and supplies.
Marsudi also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of Palestinian statehood was “unacceptable,” stating that his recent statement confirmed Tel Aviv’s ultimate objective to wipe Palestine from the world’s map.
