[ecr]

“Nine months after the implementation of Resolution 2720, which aimed at ensuring that humanitarian assistance could be delivered non-stop to the starving population of Gaza, we are faced with a disturbing reality. The truth is that the mechanism we have put in place, while operationally working, has not led to the results we expected,” said Bendjama at a Security Council meeting on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.” 

“The reality is that the delivery of humanitarian aid has decreased significantly since the adoption of Resolution (2720) in December,” he lamented.     

Bendjama cited data provided by the United Nations according to which only 62 trucks entered Gaza each day during the first 10 days of September.

By comparison, “97 trucks entered Gaza daily in December 2023 when Resolution 2720 was adopted,” meaning that “before the resolution was adopted last year, there had been more than 500 trucks entering” the Palestinian enclave, detailed the Algerian diplomat.

Algeria's Permanent Representative to the UN stressed that “this is not a logistical problem, but a political impasse caused by the Israeli authorities, which is getting worse, and from which we cannot find a way out.”

“We have to admit that our well-intentioned efforts to deal with a political crisis by purely humanitarian and logistical means have proved insufficient,” he opined.

In this regard, Bendjama stressed that “a ceasefire in Gaza is not merely desirable (but) an imperative, and unconditionally so.”

He also focused on a “very worrying issue”, namely the six staff members of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) who lost their lives in Zionist strikes. “This is not just condemnable, it reminds us of the extent to which the international norms we have long worked to build are being dangerously eroded,” he denounced.

Emphasizing that “we are once again at a crossroads,” Bendjama quoted UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, who pointed out that the longer impunity continues, the more useless the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law will become.

In the face of these alarming facts, Bendjama stressed that “even in these very dark times, there are glimmers of hope,” pointing out that “the polio vaccination campaign recently organized, which by September 13 has reached 560,000 of Gaza's 625,000 children, bears witness to what can be achieved if the necessary political will is shown.”

Praising the work of the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and UNRWA in this area, he recalled that the results achieved mirror political will and proper coordination between UN agencies and donors.

“Inter-agency coordination is fundamental if effective action is to take place in Gaza, The UNRWA is indispensable and its staff are on the front line of crucial initiatives, as we saw during the vaccination campaign” against polio.     

In this regard, he stated that early recovery projects must be given priority to prevent living conditions in Gaza from deteriorating, noting that “if polio can be prevented through vaccination, other diseases may not be preventable, hence the need to act before it is too late.”

Finally, Bendjama said that the road ahead is difficult but clear, stressing that the implementation of Resolution 2720 requires not only the establishment of a ceasefire but also the restoration of stability in Gaza and the implementation of a reconstruction plan, comprehensive and well-coordinated.

“The international community has a very heavy responsibility, and it is up to us to work hard to bring about a ceasefire and lay the foundations for a more stable and prosperous future for the region,” affirmed the Algerian diplomat.[/ecr]