Скачать или смотреть UN Palestine observer comment on Gaza crisis

(22 Jan 2008)
POOL
New York
1. Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour coming to microphones
2. Reporter asking question
3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations:
"This form of collective punishment is in a way a declaration of war against Palestinians in Gaza and, as it was characterised today, by Amr Moussa as a war crime. Because you know that we have hundreds of patients that require electricity in hospitals and if electricity is not available it's like a decision of executing them, including many newborn children."
4. Reporter asking Mansour question
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations:
"I don't think that Prime Minister (Ehud) Olmert should joke about the plight of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, saying 'Well, they can walk.' It is much complicated than such a joke because the life of 1.5 million people relying on electricity and fuel and medicine and food is not just only just taking a stroll, it's not taking a walk on the beach. It is dealing with their daily life."
6. Mansour leaving
STORYLINE:
The United Nations (UN) Security Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip following Israel's closure of all border crossings into the area last week.
The meeting, which comes a day ahead of the council's planned consultations on the Middle East, including Israel and the Palestinian territories, was suggested by the Arab League which had gathered for an emergency meeting in Cairo earlier on Monday to discuss the situation in Gaza.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN Observer, said that he and Arab ambassadors to the UN had urged the council to adopt a statement expressing concern about the situation and asking Israel to reopen the borders, but there was no comment on Monday about possible council action.
Mansour, also told reporters at the UN on Monday that Israel's form of collective punishment was, "in a way, a declaration of war against Palestinians in Gaza and as characterised by Amr Moussa, (the Arab League secretary general) a war crime".
"You know that we have hundreds of patients that require electricity in hospitals and if electricity is not available it's like a decision of executing them, including many newborn children," he said.
The 15-member council met briefly on Monday to decide whether to move up their regular consultation, which was scheduled for Wednesday.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also called Israel's prime minister on Monday to share his concerns over developments in Gaza and southern Israel, according to a UN head office statement.
It provided no other details, but UN officials last week also voiced concerns about the closures and its impact on the residents of Gaza.
Israel closed all border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Friday in response to a spike in rocket attacks from Hamas-ruled Gaza into southern Israel.
The closure cut off fuel supplies and on Sunday, Gazan officials shut the strip's power plant, leaving one-third of the 1.5 million (m) people without electricity.
The cut off of fuel prompted condemnation from aid and human rights groups, and the UN warned that international food aid to the impoverished territory may have to be suspended by the weekend.

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