TEHRAN - A high-ranking Iranian diplomat says West Asia will never see an end to the current vicious cycle of violence as long as the Israeli regime is allowed to carry on with its atrocities with impunity.

Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh, Iran’s permanent ambassador to the UN office in Geneva, made the remarks on Thursday during a special United Nations Human Rights Council session. The gathering had been formed to address “the grave human rights situation” in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

The regional turmoil would bubble up, while the “criminals” keep avoiding accountability because of this impunity and the occupation of Palestine sustains as a result of “compromise or silence,” Hamaneh said, according to Press TV.

Instead, the diplomat suggested, administering justice and pressing the Israeli regime to answer for its crimes against the Palestinians should turn into and urgent demand of the international community.

Professor Mahmood Monshipouri, who teaches Middle Eastern Politics at San Francisco State University and UC-Berkeley, says, “The Biden administration will squander a great opportunity should it choose to condone or abet the Israeli confiscation of Palestinian territories.”

Monshipouri warns, “If the two-state solution is given a low-key status, or pursued lackadaisically, the fragile ceasefire between the two sides will be short-lived and both parties will be back to square one in the not-too distant future.” 

 ‘Israel’s backers should be accountable too’

Hamaneh said the Israeli regime’s supporters, who try to justify its savagery under the pretext that it should be able to “defend itself”, must also be held to account for emboldening Tel Aviv and obstructing justice.

He reiterated the Islamic Republic’s position that “the only sustainable” way out of the crisis is holding a referendum among all Palestine’s residents including those Palestinians who have been displaced because of occupation and aggression.

Such a vote would enable Palestinians to exercise “their right to self-determination,” he pointed out.

The session followed after the forced eviction of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, violence against Palestinian worshippers and protesters across the occupied West Bank, including the holy city of al-Quds, that killed scores of Palestinians.

The regime then ramped up its attacks against the Tel Aviv-blockaded Gaza Strip that had risen up in protest against the escalation, killing more than 250 others there too. More than 60 children were among those killed as a result of the Israeli bombardment of the coastal city.

UN says Israel’s Gaza strikes may constitute ‘war crimes’

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has said Israel’s recent attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip may constitute “war crimes” if they are shown to be disproportionate.

Bachelet’s comments on Thursday came as she opened a special session of the UN Human Rights Council, called at the request of Pakistan – on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation – and Palestine.

According to al Jazeera, the UN official said she had seen no evidence that civilian buildings in Gaza hit by Israeli fighter jets were being used for military purposes.

“If found disproportionate, such attacks might constitute war crimes,” Bachelet told the 47-member Geneva forum. She also urged Hamas, which runs Gaza, to refrain from firing rockets indiscriminately on Israeli territory.

PA/PA