New York - (Saba):
The United Nations General Assembly resumed its tenth emergency special session on illegal Israeli actions in the occupied Palestinian territory on Thursday, which was first held in April 1997.
The resumption of this session comes after the United States vetoed a draft Security Council resolution on June 4th calling for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, submitted by the ten non-permanent members of the Council.
The General Assembly is scheduled to vote on the draft resolution calling for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
It also calls on Israel, the occupying power, to immediately end the blockade, open all border crossings, and ensure widespread access for aid to Palestinian civilians throughout the Strip. At the opening of the resumed session, General Assembly President Philomon Yang said that after 20 months of war, "the horrors in Gaza must end," stressing that despite the urgency of the issue, the Security Council "remains paralyzed on this issue and unable to fulfill its responsibility to maintain international peace and security."
He said it was "unacceptable that innocent civilians, including women and children, continue to be killed with no end in sight, that prisoners continue to be held, that civilians are deliberately deprived of food, water, and medicine, and that they continue to be forcibly displaced."
For his part, Spain's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Héctor José Gómez Gomez, introduced the draft resolution to the Assembly, which he said demands an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate and sustained facilitation of the widespread and unimpeded access of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, including food, medical supplies, fuel, equipment, shelter, and the provision of clean drinking water.
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