Benjamin Netanyahu maintained that his intention was not to occupy the region, but a UN official cautioned the Security Council on Sunday that Israel’s preparations to take control of Gaza City ran the potential of “another calamity” with far-reaching effects.
Following a surge of international condemnation following Israel’s announcement that its military will “take control” of Gaza City with approval from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s security cabinet, the UN Security Council convened a rare emergency meeting over the weekend.
UN Assistant Secretary Miroslav Jenca informed the UNSC that “if these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction.”
Slovenia’s ambassador to the UN Samuel Zbogar, speaking on behalf of the five European members of the Security Council ahead of the meeting, said “this decision by the Israeli government will do nothing to secure the return of the hostages and risk further endangering their lives.”
“It will also worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and risk further death and mass displacement of Palestinian civilians.”
Netanyahu, however, emphasized that Israel did not seek to colonize Gaza and stated on Sunday that his nation was “talking in terms of a fairly short timeline because we want to bring the war to an end.”
“This escalation by the Israeli government is going in total contradiction to the will of the international community,” stated Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, on Friday.
As a permanent member of the Security Council with the power of veto, the United States is likely to try to protect its loyal partner Israel from any real UN criticism.
“Israel will not stop fighting for the release of all the hostages — and ensuring the safety and security of our citizens is our duty,” stated Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, before to the meeting.
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