UNGA on Palestine

The UN General Assembly will hold an emergency meeting on the Palestine situation amid the Israeli aggression. Pakistan has dispatched its top diplomat, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, on a whirlwind tour convincing like-minded countries such as Turkey to take action.

Qureshi is banking on the UNGA to play its role and evolve a consensus on the burning issue leading to an immediate ceasefire, de-escalation and an end to the atrocities in Palestine. However, this is rather wishful thinking as the UNGA is rather a talking house and unable to take any stern action. Instead, the more powerful UN Security Council couldn’t pass a resolution condemning Israel after being vetoed by the US. When asked on the matter, Qureshi said countries with veto power should revisit their policies and rethink.

The session has been called on the request of the OIC which held its own session last week issuing a condemnation of Israeli atrocities but didn’t provide any concrete remedies. The humanitarian crisis is worsening in Palestine and the death toll is mounting while a ceasefire is nowhere in sight. The situation requires a lot more than issuing condemnations or hold meetings before it escalates further. There are just a handful of countries, including Pakistan, who are raising their voice for the Palestinians.

The UNGA is being presided by Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir. This could have a significant impact on the Palestine issue. The president said the UNGA can also convene a session on East Jerusalem if a member state submits a request. How Western countries will see the UNGA session and whether it will have any effect needs to be seen. The Western media has served the interests of Israel in its portrayal of the Palestine atrocities and it is up to the rest of the world to stand up. 

There are mounting expectations from Muslim countries to take concrete action against Israel over the Palestine issue. It is imperative that all available platforms should be utilised to take action to eventually restore peace in the volatile region. Humanitarian and peace-keeping missions should be granted unfettered access and international laws should be strongly respected.