Palestinian envoy to UN rebukes nations for ignoring Israeli atrocities

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations has condemned countries for turning a blind eye to decades of Israeli atrocities on Palestinians, and regretted that "history for...politicians starts when Israelis are killed".

Envoy Riyad Mansour's comments came ahead of an emergency UN Security Council meeting behind closed doors on Sunday to discuss the latest flare-up in Palestine-Israel violence after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli territory.

The Palestinian ambassador — who represents the Palestinian Authority and not Hamas — called on the Security Council to focus on ending Israeli occupation.

"Regrettably, history for some media and politicians starts when Israelis are killed," Mansour told reporters.

"This is not a time to let Israel double down on its terrible choices. This is a time to tell Israel it needs to change course, that there is a path to peace where neither Palestinians nor Israelis are killed."

The Palestinian Authority and Israel were not part of the closed-door meeting, as neither are currently members of the Security Council.

Mansour said Israel’s blockade of Gaza and repeated assaults in the territory didn’t achieve its aims of destroying Hamas’ military capabilities and ensuring security. Instead, it inflicted terrible suffering on Gaza’s civilian population, he said.

Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, the representative of the United Arab Emirates — which normalised relations with Israel as part of a landmark 2020 deal — said many members of the Security Council "believe that a political horizon leading to a two-state solution is the only way to finally solve this conflict".

The SC meeting ended without any consensus despite the US's attempts for a joint statement condemning Hamas.

'International support encourages Israel'

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also said on Sunday that the international support behind Israel encourages it to commit more crimes.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prime Ministry Press Office said that Shtayyeh held a phone call with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly about the latest developments in Palestine and Israel.

Shtayyeh said that “all responsibility” for what is happening belongs to Israel, which has created an “atmosphere of hatred, violence and incitement and violated international law.”

The Palestinian group Hamas has said its Operation Al Aqsa Flood against Israel was in response to the storming of Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increased settler violence.