Iran’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN - Al-Habib

Iran’s Deputy Ambassador and Permanent Envoy to the United Nations Eshaq Al-Habib - called on the UN Security Council to end the “impunity” with which Israel has committed war crimes in the blockaded sliver.

“Impunity for the perpetrators of war crimes will encourage more crimes by them,” Al-Habib said at a UNSC meeting on Thursday.

Referring to a UN fact-finding report on Israeli war crimes committed in 2009 in Gaza, the Iranian diplomat said that the United Nations Security Council has to guarantee “the full and immediate implementation” of recommendations made in the report.

“The UN Fact Finding Team’s report on Gaza clashes should be regarded as a main step towards attempting to compensate violation of international regulations by the Zionist Regime in Gaza,” he noted.

The fact-finding mission, headed by South African judge Richard Goldstone, charged Israel with committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during its onslaught on Gaza at the turn of 2009.

Al-Habib further slammed the “overt support” of the United States for Israel by vetoing a February UNSC resolution against Israel's illegal settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories and said that by exerting such power, the US is blocking any UN action on Israel's illegal settlement construction in the West Bank.

He also referred to Israel's frequent violation of the Lebanese air, sea and land space, and stressed that the Tel Aviv regime must withdraw from the occupied Lebanese lands, as well as from the Golan Heights in Syria.

Israel occupied the West Bank, including East al-Quds (Jerusalem), the Golan Heights in Syria, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and the Gaza Strip during the Six-Day War of 1967.

The Iranian deputy ambassador to the UN also highlighted the significance of reaching a “fair and peaceful” solution to the Palestinian issue to bring about permanent peace and stability in the Middle East.

The Israeli regime laid an economic siege on the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after the democratically-elected Hamas lawmakers took over the administration of the enclave.

The blockade has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.