CAIRO: The Arab Parliament has unequivocally expressed its unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, denouncing the international community's silence and the Security Council's failure to issue a ceasefire resolution amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Speaker Adel bin Abdul Rahman al Asoumi highlighted the Arab Parliament's efforts to counter plans for the forced displacement of Palestinians and condemned the occupation forces' brutal attacks.
The Parliament is actively engaged in international and regional initiatives to address the crisis, including communication with parliamentary unions and urging ICC intervention.
Meanwhile, a United Nations report published on Thursday deplored what it called a "rapid deterioration" of human rights in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and urged Israeli authorities to end violence against the Palestinian population there.
The report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said 300 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank since October 7.
At least 105 deaths could be attributed to Israeli operations involving air strikes or other military tactics in refugee camps or other densely-populated areas. At least eight people were killed by Jewish settlers, it said.
Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, dismissed the report as "quite ridiculous". "It completely belittles the major security threats to Israelis emerging from Judea and Samaria," she said, referring to the West Bank.
"Yes, we arrested hundreds of terror suspects in that area and we will continue to do whatever it takes to maintain our security."
Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force against Palestinians in the West Bank was "extremely troubling".
Meanwhile, as hostilities show no sign of abating, 40 per cent of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip is threatened by famine, according to a UN refugee agency. "Every day is a struggle for survival, finding food and finding water," Thomas White, Gaza director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), was quoted as saying on Thursday.
"Gaza is grappling with catastrophic hunger. 40 per cent of the population are now at risk of famine," the UNRWA said.
"The reality is, we need more aid. The only remaining hope is a humanitarian ceasefire."
Israel has repeatedly said that it is allowing enough aid supplies into the sealed-off coastal strip, while accusing UN organisations are failing to distribute them. Israel also alleges that Hamas is stealing aid deliveries. Relief workers have stressed that transporting and delivering aid is extremely difficult amid the ongoing hostilities. The last and only pause in fighting in the Gaza war took place at the end of November and lasted one week. - Agencies
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