Agencies-Gaza post
“Israel kills us because of who we are not what we do”: Palestine’s UN ambassador
Palestinian individuals are killed by Israeli occupation forces not because of what they do, but because of who they are, according to Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Minister Riyad Mansour.
“Shireen [Abu Akleh] was an exceptional being, but her killing is unfortunately not an exception,” Mansour remarked during the Security Council’s monthly briefing on the Middle East, which included the topic of Palestine. She continued to recount the memories of her people, hoping that by doing so, she might be able to change the course of history.”
He added, “Shireen’s killing is the story. The same story she was telling. The difference is that this time the world knew the victim. We are not killed because of what we do, but because of who we are. We are not killed by mistake, but as part of a grand design, aiming to make sure we all understand no one is safe, so that we all live with fear in our hearts and surrender.”
The Palestinian ambassador said under Israel’s military occupation regime, there is “no immunity for a journalist, a President, a health worker, a UN staff, a farmer, a child, a baby, a pregnant mother, an elderly, a professor, a dual citizen, a Minister, an officer, a judge. If you are a Palestinian, you are a legitimate target, and Israel can decide if you get to live or die.”
“Shireen’s killing was not the exception. Israel was prompt to accuse the victim instead of taking responsibility for a longstanding shoot-to-kill policy that found in the killing of Shireen its ultimate expression. You rightly called for accountability, but Israel has enjoyed impunity for so long, it does not know what the hell you are talking about.”
“Our children are being killed, arrested, displaced, harassed every day. Protect them from a war waged against one Palestinian generation after another!,” stressed the Palestinian diplomat.
Mansour also turned to Israel’s displacement and ethnic cleansing policy: “When we speak of forcible displacement, imagine a family living in fear every single day of being uprooted of its home, the nightmares that haunt a child, the ache a powerless parent feels. 1200 people, including 500 children, are going through this in Masafer Yatta as we speak.”
He added, “The reason given by Israel: The area has been designated as a firing zone for military training. A firing zone, as if they needed more training in how to kill us. The real reason? Seizing maximum Palestinian land with minimum Palestinians. Annexation and colonialism.”
Source: WAFA
