By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Palestine's envoy to the UN denounced the US veto Thursday of a draft Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, saying it stopped the Council from acting as civilians face genocide.
Riyad Mansour said the resolution was the "bare minimum that humanity, legality and morality dictate," but its rejection left Palestinians unprotected.
"It is deeply regrettable and painful that it has been blocked, preventing the Security Council from playing its rightful role in the face of these atrocities and protecting civilians in the face of genocide," he told the Council.
Calling for an immediate halt to the genocide, Mansour said: "Violence is an impasse. A ceasefire saves the lives of Palestinians and Israelis, hostages and prisoners."
Warning against selective concern, he said: "One should not see, only partially, the suffering of a group of people and completely ignore acknowledging the massive mountains of suffering of the Palestinian people."
"There is no justification for killing and harming civilians, whether Palestinians or Israelis. Calling for such violence to end can suffer no conditions, no delays, no excuses," he added.
Mansour stressed that "there is no right for Israel to massacre Palestinians," adding: "There is no right for Israel to commit genocide. There is no right for Israel to commit ethnic cleansing. There is no right for Israel to starve a people."
He accused Israel's backers of enabling its actions and said: "Israel's impunity is fueling its folly. Shielding it is allowing it to persist on a horrific path that will never lead to peace or security or integration."
The envoy urged all states to act outside the Council and take "decisive measures that will deter Israel, the occupying power, from pursuing its criminal schemes against our people."
Looking ahead to next week's High-Level General Debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Mansour said the Palestinian cause would dominate discussions.
"This general assembly will be the General Assembly of the question of Palestine; action can no longer be delayed," he said, expressing confidence that international pressure would grow.