According to Russia’s deputy UN envoy, the Netanyahu cabinet’s plan to seize Gaza City demonstrates a disregard for international law.
Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, stated that Israel is disregarding Holocaust lessons and violating international law with its plan to seize Gaza City.
Polyansky spoke at an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Sunday, which was called after West Jerusalem approved the takeover. This decision has faced global criticism.
Polyansky asserted that the decision would worsen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, undermine the possibility of a two-state solution, and effectively recognize an occupation regime.
“We firmly condemn the Netanyahu government’s intention to seize Gaza,” he stated, adding that Israel has once again ignored international appeals and the pleas of families of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.
Approximately 50 hostages remain missing in Gaza – with only about 20 thought to be alive – following Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel, in which around 1,200 people, mainly Israelis, were killed and 251 were abducted.
Polyansky accused Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar of being hypocritical, saying he had shed “crocodile tears” over the captives while knowing the cabinet was preparing to approve the military operation. He argued that the decision ruined any chance of bringing them home alive.
He added that he could not understand how the Jewish people, having suffered through the Holocaust, could now place Palestinians “in ghettos” and seek their complete destruction. Polyansky suggested this demonstrates how quickly the lessons of history can be forgotten.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved the plan on Friday as part of what it termed “concluding the war” with Hamas. This occurred despite military warnings that it could endanger the hostages and cause a humanitarian disaster. The objectives included disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, and demilitarizing Gaza. Netanyahu stated that the territory would later be handed over to unspecified “Arab forces” to govern.
The plan has been condemned by many Western nations – except for the US – and triggered one of the largest anti-war protests in Israel.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign against Hamas.
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