Former envoy pleads with UN to wade into latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A former Nigerian envoy, Dr. Nnamdi Onochie, has pleaded with the United Nations (UN) and the international community to wade into the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to him, the intervention is necessary to urgently stop the worsening destruction of lives and property in both countries.

Onochie made the appeal in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday as death toll rises to no fewer than 200 in the latest bloody encounter between the two Middle East neighbours.

At least 59 children and 35 women are among the dead, with Israel saying that more than 130 Hamas militants are among the dead.

The Palestine ministry of health said also that 1,305 people had been injured by Israeli airstrikes since the violence erupted last week.

The fighting began after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestine tension in occupied East Jerusalem, which culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews for centuries.

Hamas, which controls Gaza began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site, triggering retaliatory air strikes from the Jewish nation.

“The rapid deterioration of events to war between the State of Israel and the Palestine Authority has shocked the global humanity. It is a war that is senseless and totally avoidable.

“The global community should not look on and continue to witness instant and horrendous deaths and destructions taking place in both countries, especially in Gaza,’’ said Onochie, a former Nigerian envoy to Algeria and Republic of the Philippines.

He told the UN Security Council to join hands with the U.S., Egypt, Jordan, the European Union, and the African Union to restore peace between the warring neighbours.

The former envoy argued that there was need to seek a lasting ceasefire and the actualisation of the protection of the State of Israel as well as the creation of a nation the Palestinians could call their own.

“Humanity must urge and persuade all the people of the region, to seek permanent peace and prosperity for all.

“Nigerian people want to see a world marching towards global successes in these times, having won a victory in the war against the coronavirus,” he added.

The former Delta commissioner noted that there should be higher goals for mankind, rather than engaging in fruitless destructive wars. (NAN)

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