India on Sunday strongly condemned all acts of violence, including “indiscriminate rocket firings” from Gaza and the “retaliatory strikes”.
Amid the deteriorating situation in middle-east with Israel and Hamas exchanging heavy fires, India on Sunday strongly condemned all acts of violence, including “indiscriminate rocket firings” from Gaza and the “retaliatory strikes”. Ambassador T S Tirumurti, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, during an open debate on the Middle East situation, told the United Nations Security Council that the ongoing violence has caused immense suffering and resulted in deaths, including of women and children.
“We urge both sides to show extreme restraint, desist from actions that exacerbate tensions, and refrain from attempts to unilaterally change the existing status quo, including in East Jerusalem and its neighbourhood,” Tirumurti told the Security Council.
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PR @ambtstirumurti speaks at the Open Debate on Middle East@MEAIndia @indemtel @ROIRamallah pic.twitter.com/g1admWoaxP
— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) May 16, 2021
India also paid homage to her national, Soumya Santosh, who was staying in Israel and lost her life in a rocket attack by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. The UN ambassador said that India “deeply mourn[s] her demise” along with all civilians who have lost their lives in the “current cycle of violence, provocation, incitement, and destruction.”
The Permanent Representative for India also called for resuming direct dialogue and creating conducive conditions for it, stressing that immediate de-escalation is the need of the hour. He reiterated that India supports the just cause of Palestinians and a two-State solution. “Jerusalem has a special place in the hearts of millions of Indians, who visit the city every year. The Old City also houses the Al Zawiyya Al Hindiyya – The Indian Hospice, which is a historic place associated with a great Indian Sufi saint Baba Farid. India has restored this Indian Hospice,” he added.
The situation between two countries has deteriorated rapidly after the Israeli forces and police stormed the Sheikh Jarrah mosque in East Jerusalem last week during the holy month of Ramadan. It was retaliated by the Hamas with rockets being fired at Israel.
Since then, the situation has continued to escalate, with the fresh spate of violence on Sunday killing 40 Palestinians, the worst death toll since the unrest broke out. The United Nations has warned that the fighting could plunge the region into an “uncontainable” crisis.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, while opening the Security Council session, voiced alarm at the rise of extremist Jewish movements to push Palestinians out of Jerusalem.
“In Israel, violence by vigilante-style groups and mobs has added a further horrendous dimension to an already deteriorating crisis,” Guterres said.
“Leaders on all sides have a responsibility to curb inflammatory rhetoric and calm the rising tensions,” he added.
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