01/10/2024 Session
Opening a current affairs debate on the “Situation in the Middle-East: escalation of violence and mounting humanitarian crisis, particularly in Gaza”, Saskia Kluit (Netherlands, SOC) recalled that PACE has condemned the attacks of Hamas in the strongest words and said that PACE “must call for the immediate return of all the hostages, and call upon Hamas to grant immediate access of the Red Cross to them”.
She expressed deep concern at the fact that the military operations of Israel were still continuing unabated in Gaza and the West Bank, and had extended to Yemen, Syria, crossing the borders of Lebanon with a ground offensive from Israel. “It is of the highest importance we prevent the situation in Gaza – which has no comparison in the region – from spilling over to other areas in the Middle-East,” she said. “We cannot accept a manmade humanitarian crisis of this scale, because it will be the new normal and other people will be hurt in other conflicts. So, we should push for an immediate de-escalation and permanent and unconditional ceasefire,“ she added.
“Pending the ceasefire [..] we should call on Israel and conflicting parties to ensure that the military operations do not further destroy civilian lives or infrastructure. And we should call urgently on Israel and all parties in the Middle East to fully respect international boundaries, humanitarian law and regulations which have been installed for exactly the situation we are talking about now. Humanitarian personnel should be guaranteed safe working conditions in all situations, and access points to conflicting and de-escalation zones (especially in Gaza) must be open at all times for humanitarian and medical goods,” she concluded.
Sixteen speakers took the floor during the debate.