Israel, instigator of crisis in Mideast: Iran

Iran’s UN mission has described the Israeli regime as the key culprit in inciting crisis in the Middle East, pointing to the brutal killing of Palestinians through the use of diverse weaponry as just a portion of the crimes instigated by Tel Aviv.

Speaking before a meeting of the UN Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts on Monday, a member of Iran’s permanent mission at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Seyed Mohammad Ali Mottaqi-Nejad, said the persistent killings and violation of rights perpetrated against Palestinian people in the occupied territories are the outcome of the Israeli regime’s lack of accountability.

He further called on the Council to take appropriate measures to protect civilians in occupied Palestine and other parts of the globe.

Mottaqi-Nejad further drew attention to measures adopted by the Israeli regime in occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip, saying, “This regime has attacked civilians with various bombs and, by besieging one-and-a-half-million people in Gaza, it has turned this region into the largest prison in the world.”

The Iranian representative further declared that the Islamic Republic of Iran joins the call by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for lifting the siege on Gaza and the limitations resulting from the blockade.

He also underlined that applying double standards in assessing criminal acts as well as efforts to avoid accountability by the perpetrators will result in the intensification of conflicts and abuse of civilian rights.

“An obvious example of such practice is the Israeli regime, which, despite being the source of crisis in the Middle East, avoids accountability and continues with its crimes by accusing others,” said Mottaqi-Nejad.

The Iranian official called for more attention to the roots of regional conflicts around the globe, including factors such as poverty, deprivation, marginalization, and foreign intervention and occupation, urging the UN Security Council to take appropriate measures to prevent criminal acts against civilians.

The Israeli regime imposed land, aerial, and naval blockades on the Gaza Strip in June 2007, after the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas took over the administration of the territory in elections.

The blockade has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the impoverished enclave, having turned the territory into the world’s largest open-air prison.