UN failure to adopt statement Palestine unacceptable: Turkish envoy

Turkey has described the U.N.'s failure to adopt a press statement after debating the Israeli-Palestine issue on May 16 as "simply unacceptable."

"Failure to adopt even a press statement on an issue that has been on the Council's agenda since almost its inception is simply unacceptable," said Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Turkey's ambassador to the U.N., in a written statement sent to the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the conflict.

Sinirlioğlu strongly condemned Israel's aggression, including airstrikes, against Palestinians and conveyed condolences to the Palestinian nation for the loss of lives, including infants and children.

Decrying the Israeli attack on the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) schools in Gaza, he said attacks on schools constitute war crimes.

"Since the start of the Israeli aggression, over 40 children have died in Gaza. If a classroom full of kids was blown up elsewhere, how many days would it have taken for this Council to have a public meeting?" he asked, criticizing the late meeting that came 10 days after the start of the Israeli attacks.

"What can justify Council's current inaction in the face of such human carnage broadcast live on TV?" Sinirlioğlu said.

He noted that remaining silent in the face of Israel's indiscriminate attacks on Palestinians only served to encourage Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "prompting the occupier to launch its largest military operation targeting Gaza since 2014".

The envoy called on the UNSC to immediately stop Israel's attacks on Palestinians.

"It must also compel Israel to immediately allow humanitarian aid into Gaza for thousands of displaced Palestinians," he stressed, adding that the Council can no longer...

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