Geneva: Oman calls for immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza

Oman has called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, a halt to aggression to end human suffering and the complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza.

The call was made by Ambassador Idris Abdul Rahman Alkhanjari, Oman's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organisations in Geneva, during the interactive dialogue session on the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel.

During the session Oman expressed its reservations about attempts to present a balanced stance that equates the occupying party with the party suffering under more than half a century of occupation.

On behalf of Oman's delegation, Ambassador Alkhanjari thanked the fact-finding Committee for its report, which calls for the events of October 7th and their aftermath to be considered in context. He added that this date was preceded by decades of occupation, pain, frustration and deprivation of the basic right to live with dignity.

The Ambassador pointed out that the tragic events in Gaza and the West Bank have exposed the reality of the occupying state's inhumane practices to the world, especially among young people, who have become aware of the decades-long deception propagated by the Israeli narrative.

He said that these events also revealed that the United Nations has been unable to overcome the policy of double standards due to some dominant member states, hindering the enforcement of international law and interpreting it to suit their interests at the expense of the rights of people to development, cooperation and peace.

Ambassador Alkhanjari said that Oman agrees with parts of the Committee's documentation of Israel's war crimes, including the killing of thousands of civilians, including women, children and the elderly, the wounding of more than 130,000 people, the starving and displacing of two million civilians, as well as the systematic destruction and targeting of civilian facilities, hospitals, schools and universities.

The Ambassador stressed the necessity of opening crossings, allowing displaced persons to return to their homes, lifting the siege, expediting the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods and mapping out the reconstruction of Gaza.

Ambassador Alkhanjari said Oman agrees with the Committee's call for Israel to comply with the provisional measures prescribed by the International Court of Justice, and to allow current or future investigative teams to carry out their work in all affected areas without restriction, granting them the powers to gather evidence and uncover the truth to determine responsibilities and hold accountable parties proven to be involved in war crimes, genocide and violations of international laws and conventions.