Absolutely nothing justifies ongoing genocide in Gaza: Lula
At the UN General Assembly, Brazil’s president says the October 7 attacks are indefensible from any angle, but nothing justifies the ongoing genocide in Gaza. He added that:
- Under tonnes of rubble are buried tens of thousands of innocent women and children.
- There, we can see that international humanitarian law and the myth of ethical exceptionalism of the West are also being buried.
- Hunger is used as a weapon of war and the forced displacement of population goes on unpunished.
- The Palestinian people are at risk of disappearing.
Indonesia’s president draws links between Indonesians and Palestinians
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has said the country is prepared to send 20,000 peacekeepers to Gaza or “anywhere” in need of peace.
His speech at the UN General Assembly focused on links between Indonesia’s history, particularly the suffering it faced under colonialism, and that of Gaza. Though he rarely mentioned Gaza by name, and not yet once mentioned Israel, he repeatedly nodded toward the situation in the strip.
“My country knows this pain for centuries. Indonesians lived under colonial domination, oppression and slavery, we were treated less than dogs in our own homeland,” he said.
“We Indonesians know what it means to be denied justice and what it means to live in apartheid, to live in poverty and to be denied equal opportunity.”
The Indonesian leader ended his speech with an impassioned plea for an independent Palestine and peace in the region. “We must have an independent Palestine, but we must also recognise the safety and security of Israel. Only then we can we have real peace.
“The only solution is that the two descendants of Abraham must live with reconciliation. Arabs, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhist – all religions, we must live as one human family.”
War on Gaza one of humanity’s darkest moments: Erdogan
Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began his speech at the UN General Assembly by pointing to the US denial of visas to Palestinian Authority and Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) officials, including PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
He also added that:
- Israel’s murdering of journalists and “closing all the entrances to Gaza” has failed to hide the genocide.
- He showed the UNGA a photo of what he calls “daily life in Gaza”, depicting hungry women holding buckets and pots waiting to receive food.
- Erdogan called the war on Gaza one of humanity’s darkest moments.
- Israel ‘s attack on Qatar showed Israel “completely out of control”.
- “We have to have a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible.”
