New York (United Nations) – On Tuesday, April 29, 2025, Algeria reiterated its condemnation of the “deafening silence” and “unacceptable inaction” of the UN Security Council for over a year regarding the tragedy faced by the Palestinian people in Gaza. Algeria emphasized that the absence of accountability and double standards have emboldened the Zionist entity to continue its campaign of genocide and systematic destruction of Palestinian lives.
During a Security Council session dedicated to “The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question,” Algeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ammar Bendjama, described the session as “a departure from the Council’s deafening silence and unacceptable inaction over the past year in the face of the Palestinian tragedy.” He noted that in the past two months alone, 2,273 Palestinians were martyred and over 6,000 others injured.
Bendjama acknowledged the tireless efforts of the UN Secretary-General to alleviate Palestinian suffering, which Algeria deeply appreciates, but lamented that these efforts “have unfortunately not shaken the obstinacy of the occupation, which remains determined to pursue its campaign of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and systematic destruction of Palestinian lives and livelihoods.” He added that “worse still, the international community and the Security Council have failed to provide the necessary support to make these efforts effective.”
He stressed that “the absence of collective action, lack of accountability, and double standards have encouraged the occupier to act with complete impunity and full immunity.” Today, Bendjama noted, “we find ourselves at a critical juncture.” He posed critical questions: “When will words translate into actions? When will Security Council resolutions be implemented? When will international law cease to be a selectively applied tool? When will the dignity, rights, and humanity of the Palestinian people finally be respected?”
For over 18 months, Bendjama continued, the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, have endured “unspeakable horrors: mass killing, mass starvation, mass displacement, and mass destruction, abandoned without defense, facing one of the world’s most brutal occupation forces.” He criticized the international community for failing to uphold its moral and legal responsibilities, which has “encouraged the occupation to normalize and even enhance the crime of mass displacement as a strategy.” Despite the “horrific figures known to all here,” he added, “some still refuse to see the truth and condemn the indiscriminate attacks on the Palestinian people.”
Citing reports from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bendjama highlighted that in 36 recent attacks, all martyrs were women and children, indicating “either indiscriminate bombing or deliberate targeting of civilians.” He stressed that the deliberate targeting of Palestinian civilians, directed by the highest Zionist political and military authorities, is “clear and well-documented.” These are not collateral damages, he asserted, but “an adopted policy that demands accountability and justice.”
International humanitarian organizations, he noted, have confirmed that Gaza is now experiencing the worst humanitarian disaster since October 2023, describing it as “one of the worst humanitarian failures.” Every person in Gaza relies on humanitarian aid to survive, yet this lifeline was completely severed following the Zionist occupation’s blockade on all aid supplies starting March 2, 2025. He recalled that the World Food Programme announced its food reserves in Gaza have been entirely depleted.
Bendjama highlighted that the so-called Zionist “Defense Minister” shamelessly declared that blocking humanitarian aid is an intentional tactic and a pressure tool against the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas. He questioned, “What kind of world do we live in when starvation is used as a weapon of war without consequences?” and urged an immediate ceasefire before it’s too late.
He also noted that the situation in the occupied West Bank is “no less alarming,” with settlement expansion continuing at a “record pace,” uprooting entire communities. Armed settler militias, protected by the Zionist occupation, roam freely, attacking Palestinian families, burning homes, fields, and places of worship. Forced displacement occurs in broad daylight, entire neighborhoods are turned into military zones, and arbitrary arrests, home demolitions, and daily raids have become a “grim routine.”
Today, Bendjama said, “the idea of a Palestinian state seems like a fading illusion, yet despite decades of occupation, waves of displacement, and immense suffering, Palestinians have never surrendered. They remain steadfast in their homeland, culture, and legitimate aspirations.”
He concluded, “With the support of the international community and through resilience and perseverance, the Palestinian people will achieve their inalienable right to self-determination, establishing their independent, sovereign state with Holy Jerusalem as its eternal capital.”
