Israel’s strikes on the Qatari capital on September 9 targeted Hamas leaders gathered to discuss a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza. Five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer were killed.
That strike “was a shocking breach of international law”, UN rights chief Volker Turk said during an urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council about the strike.
Denouncing the attack as “an assault on regional peace and stability”, he urged “accountability for unlawful killings”.
His words were echoed by Qatar and dozens of country representatives who took the floor during the three-hour debate.
Qatari International Cooperation Minister Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad slammed Israel’s “treacherous attack” and demanded that the international community “take practical steps to hold the aggressors accountable and prevent their impunity”.
“This attack was not an isolated incident, but rather was part of a broader campaign aimed at distorting Qatar’s role and obstructing its diplomatic efforts,” she said.
Pakistan’s ambassador Bilal Ahmad warned that “this unjustifiable and unprovoked attack constitutes a dangerous escalation”.
The council had announced on Monday that it would convene the 10th urgent debate since its creation in 2006, following two official requests from members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Pakistan was among those that led the call for the urgent debate.
‘Shameful’
Neither Israel nor its main ally, the United States, which both disengaged from the council earlier this year, was present for the urgent debate.
But Israel’s ambassador in Geneva, Daniel Meron, lambasted the meeting from the sidelines.
“This marks yet another shameful chapter in the Human Rights Council’s ongoing abuse,” he told journalists.
He accused the council of “serving as a platform for anti-Israel propaganda, while ignoring the brutal realities on the ground and the atrocities committed by Hamas”.
There was little support for Israel’s position during the debate.
European Union ambassador Deike Potzel stressed the bloc’s “principled stance against terrorism in all its forms”, while underlining its “support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar” and calling “on Israel to respect international law”.
“We urge all parties to refrain from any actions that jeopardise mediation channels and regional stability,” she said.
China’s ambassador Chen Xu said his country “firmly rejects and categorically condemns” the September 9 attack, which he charged was “a deliberate attempt to derail the negotiation process”.
Some of the harshest criticism came from South Africa, which has brought a case against Israel before the International Court of Justice, accusing it of committing genocide in Gaza.
The attack “strikes against the very heart of mediation processes”, ambassador Mxolisi Nkosi told the council, adding that it “demonstrates that Israel does not want to end its genocidal war against the Palestinian people”.
“It is time for the international community to demonstrate through practical countermeasures that Israel does not enjoy some form of special immunity from accountability.“
