UN humanitarian chief says Israel must follow same rules for civilian protection

UNITED NATIONS, July 16 (Xinhua) -- UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said Wednesday that Israel must be held to the same principles and laws of all other states in terms of protection of civilians.

States and armed groups must uphold the rules -- forged because of the horrors of conflict and hatred -- that protect civilians in war, Fletcher told a Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"Today, across the world, we watch these rules being corroded and degraded. Again, it is of course for you (the Security Council members) to decide how you act to ensure that all parties respect international humanitarian law. But I agree with some members of the Israeli Cabinet that you have consistently overestimated your powers of quiet persuasion," he said.

"We hold all parties to the standards of international law in this conflict. We don't have to choose -- and in fact, we must not choose -- between demanding the end to the starvation of civilians in Gaza and demanding the unconditional release of all the hostages. And we must reject antisemitism. We must fight it with every fiber of our DNA. But we must also hold Israel to the same principles and laws of all other states," he said.

Civilians must be protected wherever they are, hostages must be released, humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter at scale, and humanitarian workers must be protected, Fletcher stressed.

Weeks ago, an Israeli minister called allowing aid into Gaza a "disastrous decision," while another implied that starvation might be "justified and moral" until hostages are freed, Fletcher said. "Intentionally using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare would of course be a war crime."

Most recently, Israel's defense minister talked openly about moving Palestinians into what he called a "humanitarian city," said Fletcher. "We understand that the proposal is to forcibly displace Palestinians to a designated zone near Rafah. Now I don't know how to describe this, but it is not humanitarian." ■