Gaza and Palestine were dominant themes at UN. Will it make a difference?

New York City – Gaza and Palestine person been the ascendant topics astatine the United Nations arsenic satellite leaders convened astatine the 80th General Assembly (UNGA) in New York implicit the past week.

In their speeches, UN Security Council (UNSC) meetings, sideline events and media briefings, galore countries – from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to France to Malaysia – called for an extremity to Israeli atrocities successful Gaza and the constitution of a Palestinian state.

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But arsenic astir of the satellite rallied astir Palestine successful the archetypal week of the UNGA, Israel killed astatine slightest 661 Palestinians successful Gaza and pushed connected unabated with its crushed battle on Gaza City.

Diplomats and analysts accidental rhetoric and diplomatic moves alone, including the designation of a Palestinian state, are not capable to determination the needle connected the ground, oregon amended the concern of Palestinians nether bombardment and occupation.

Rights advocates are seeking an arms embargo and sanctions against Israel to unit it to extremity its abuses.

Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, enforcement caput of the Hague Group – a conjugation of countries pushing for specified measures against Israel – said the “situation keeps getting worse” due to the fact that Israel continues to person entree to weapons and resources.

“The economical mightiness of the genocidal instrumentality is inactive not weakened. Israel continues to person arms,” Gandikota-Nellutla told Al Jazeera.

Palestine recognition

During the UNGA, dozens of countries convened for a acme to propulsion for the two-state solution, portion respective Western states, including Australia, France and the United Kingdom, formally recognised Palestine.

As that gathering was nether way, protesters extracurricular the UN analyzable banged connected pots to decry the deadly hunger successful Gaza.

Maamoun Hussein, 1 of the demonstrators, said the increasing planetary designation of the authorities of Palestine is simply a affirmative development, but it indispensable beryllium followed by a meaningful propulsion to clasp Israel accountable.

“It’s a testament to the perseverance of the Palestinian radical for implicit 78 years of genocide and taste cleansing,” Hussein told Al Jazeera, referring to the increasing fig of countries present recognising Palestinian statehood.

“But these countries person the powerfulness to bash an arms embargo. They person the powerfulness to enactment unit connected Israel. Instead, each the Arab countries present are astatine risk. The full satellite is astatine hazard due to the fact that they’re changing the full ineligible strategy to suit Israel, which is simply a terrorist, genocidal state.”

While ravaging Gaza and intensifying attacks and annexation efforts successful the occupied West Bank, Israel has besides carried retired attacks against Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and Qatar successful caller months. The Israeli subject is besides wide believed to person struck a Gaza-bound humanitarian vessel successful a Tunisian port.

Gandikota-Nellutla besides said that portion recognising Palestinians’ close to self-determination is an important step, much indispensable beryllium done.

“The hazard is that countries halt present – that countries pat themselves successful the backmost and say, ‘We’ve done our bit’, and determination connected without cutting disconnected the worldly arteries of the genocide astatine this moment,” she told Al Jazeera.

‘The economical mightiness of the genocidal instrumentality is inactive not weakened,’ says Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, enforcement caput of the Hague Group [Ali Harb/Al Jazeera]

At a UNSC gathering to sermon the crisis, Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Attaf warned connected Tuesday that planetary stableness volition beryllium connected whether the planetary assemblage tin rein successful Israel and guarantee the constitution of a Palestinian authorities based connected borders arsenic they stood earlier the 1967 war.

“There is nary abstraction for denial that what Gaza has been enduring is simply a broad warfare of annihilation,” Attaf said, citing the recent UN Commission of Inquiry’s study that accused Israel of genocide.

‘We are not yet there’

A time later, diplomats representing countries from crossed the satellite met to renew calls for protecting Palestinian children, astir 20,000 of whom person been killed successful Israeli attacks successful Gaza since October 2023.

“This suffering is not inevitable. It is simply a effect of choices, of actions, and of inaction – and choices tin change,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said astatine the event.

On the sidelines of the UNGA, Brazil, Jordan and Spain, on with UN main Antonio Guterres, besides led a push to rally governmental and fiscal enactment for the UN bureau for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which Israel has unilaterally banned.

Al Jazeera asked Philippe Lazzarini, the caput of UNRWA, whether the diplomatic efforts successful enactment of Palestine successful New York are making a tangible quality successful the information of Palestinians successful Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“There person been a batch of acknowledgement-outrage combination, but it hasn’t gone acold beyond that,” Lazzarini said.

“The existent question is: How volition this beryllium translated into indispensable power impacting the concern connected the ground? We are not yet there,” helium added.

Lazzarini said the situation successful Gaza has reached the dire authorities it is successful contiguous due to the fact that of “impunity” for Israel’s actions, suggesting that Palestinian lives person been “devalued” successful the eyes of the world.

On Friday, delegates of much than 50 countries walked retired of the UNGA hallway arsenic Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court connected warfare transgression charges, took the podium.

Nearby, representatives of 34 countries met arsenic portion of the Hague Group, and discussed imaginable policies to halt the atrocities successful Gaza, including imposing an vigor embargo connected Israel and blocking Israeli weapons shipments from their ports.

The gathering included countries spanning 4 continents, specified arsenic Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Iceland, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Spain and Qatar.

For Gandikota-Nellutla, the Hague Group’s chief, planetary corporate enactment is the mode towards ending Israeli impunity.

“We privation to turn state by country, until we engulf the full satellite – until each proviso concatenation that brings immoderate weapons of decease to Israel becomes inaccessible to Netanyahu and his government,” she told Al Jazeera.