The Maldives has urged the international community to impose an immediate arms embargo on Israel. This plea was articulated by the Maldivian Chargé d’affaires Ambassador Dr Ali Naseer Mohamed during the Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the ‘Use of the Veto’.
In his statement, Ambassador Mohamed said the recent veto in the United Nations Security Council on 20 February effectively provided Israel with a license to continue with impunity and kill more than a hundred Palestinian civilians and injure hundreds more during the incident of 29 February.
The Maldives said that “the civilians that Israel killed on that day and since then were those who had been deprived by Israel, of food, water, and other necessities.”
In his address, Mohamed implored the Security Council to intervene immediately to stop Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine. He further appealed to the Council and the broader international community to transcend mere rhetoric and take decisive action to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes against the Palestinian people.
The health ministry in Gaza has reported a staggering number of casualties, with at least 30,717 Palestinians killed and 72,156 wounded in Israeli attacks since 7 October. The Maldives’ call for an arms embargo is set against the backdrop of these escalating figures and mounting international apprehension over the humanitarian crisis.