World organizations, Tuesday, including the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (JCC), along with the UN Group of 77 and China, the International NGO Network and the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of Union for the Mediterranean further echoed the urgency of the international community’s demand for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency has reported that a communiqué from the JCC and the Group of 77 and China has strongly condemned the ongoing militant hostilities by Israel against the Palestinian people, as they continue to disenfranchise, injure, imprison and kill the civilian population by ever increasing numbers, to include entire families, and particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Over 1,000 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, women and elderly have been killed by Israeli occupying forces, with over 6,000 civilian injuries reported, and more than 180,000 civilians having now been displaced as a result of Israel’s current offensive on the already besieged coastal region.
Members of the JCC have demanded an immediate end to Israel’s military aggression against the Palestinian people, calling upon the international community and, in particular, the UN Security Council, to exert all efforts in bringing to a end the ongoing military operations in Gaza, by Israel, and to ensure a ceasefire which is sustainable, in line with that which took place in November 2012:
“Israel must be demanded to abide forthwith by all of its obligations under international law, particularly the 4th Geneva Convention, and by all relevant United Nations resolutions,” read the communiqué.
The JCC called on the Security Council to immediately act in calling for and securing a lasting ceasefire, with special regard to its Presidential Statement of July 28, 2014:
“The Security Council must uphold its Charter duties with an immediate viewing to saving and protecting innocent civilian lives and averting the further destabilization of the situation, which constitutes a threat to regional and international peace and security, and must adopt a resolution to this effect.”
In addition, the International NGO Network also called, on Tuesday, for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in addition to the immediate provision of humanitarian assistance to its population, as well as for the lifting of the cripplig siege that continues to be imposed on the region by Israel, with backing from the Egyptian government.
In a press statement, the Network said that “military operations have failed miserably to bring about justice, peace and security for the population in Gaza Strip and Israel.”
It further read:
“Today, as Israeli military operations in Gaza continue to kill civilians and demolish homes, schools, power plants, neighborhoods and villages, and as missiles continue to be fired from Gaza into Israel, We urge anew for an immediate ceasefire.”
The group also called upon the government of Italy, together with the international community, in consolidating effective efforts to reach solutions which contribute to ‘achieving a genuine and just peace for all in the region, including and insuring that the perpetrators of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law are identified in a transparent and systematic manner’, according to WAFA.
Furthermore, the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of Union for the Mediterranean also issued a similar press statement which called for an end to the violence:
“The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and respect of international humanitarian law and of the Geneva Convention. Civilians of all ages are paying the price for this latest escalation: the life of an Israeli human being and of a Palestinian human being is equal.”
The Bureau is urging effective facilitation of humanitarian pauses in the conflict, corridors which allow workers to aid the victims, assist the wounded, and offer relief to trapped civilian victims.
In expressing its support for efforts to reach a sustainable ceasefire, the statement further asserted that it ‘encourages and promotes the ongoing mediation by key regional players and the UN Secretary-General and supports their efforts to come to a sustainable cease fire.’
‘The Bureau encourages all efforts that may arise, with the same view, from individuals and organizations of civil society,” the statement continued, noting that no lasting solution to the conflict will come about by means of violence, and urging both sides to return to the negotiating table for discussing a two-state solution:
“Palestinians and Israelis have the same right to live in security, integrity and dignity. To make those rights effective is a challenge and a duty of us all.”
