[ecr]

“To restore its legitimacy and credibility, the Security Council must fully assume its responsibility and act quickly and decisively to address the worsening crisis in the Middle East,” said Bendjama during a Security Council meeting on the Middle East situation, calling on this UN body to implement its resolutions particularly regarding the situation in occupied Palestine and Lebanon, which are subject to savage Zionist aggression.

“While the Security Council has failed to take decisive measures, tens of thousands of lives have been lost. Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from hunger, disease and forced displacement” in Gaza, he emphasized.

In this respect, Bendjama said that the priority for the Security Council is to stop the “tragedy” and “ongoing massacre by imposing an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon,” noting that it was “vital to effectively address the catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian enclave.

“The humanitarian operations (in the Gaza Strip) are currently hindered by the lack of political will of the (Zionist) occupier who continues to use hunger as a weapon of war,” he said.

In this regard, Bendjama called for the implementation of the United Nations resolution regarding the creation of a Palestinian State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. A resolution “under threat,” he said, due to the actions of the Zionist occupation authorities who wish to multiply settlements in the West Bank.

He also invited the Security Council to facilitate Palestine’s admission to the UN as a full member.

In this respect, he quoted the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who called for “taking immediate and urgent measures to save the peace process which finds itself in an unprecedented dead end. This can only be achieved by making the occupiers respect the principles of international law by implementing United Nations resolutions, by redoubling efforts to ensure that Palestine becomes a full member of the United Nations.”

“The council must ensure the implementation of its resolutions by imposing sanctions against those who violate international law,” said the Algerian diplomat, recalling that despite its very clear position on the illegality of Zionist settlements, through the adoption of resolution 2334, the Security Council has not succeeded in implementing this same resolution.

Bendjama stressed that the fundamental cause of Middle Eastern conflict stems from the occupation of Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon.

“The council must enforce its own resolutions (...) to put an end to the occupation and restore peace in the region,” he proclaimed.

“The cost of silence and inaction continues to mount,” he recalled, warning against the consequences of the conflict in the Middle East.

The Security Council must act  “to revive hope for peace, while upholding the principles of justice and international law,” Amar Bendjama concluded. [/ecr]