Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has told the United Nations that Israel must be held accountable for crimes it is committing in Gaza, including “genocide,” as well as its attacks on journalists and other violations of international law.
“The ongoing massacre, the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza is a travesty of justice and the international system,” the leader of the Indian Ocean archipelago told the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
He said Israel's killing of civilians and its “repeated destruction” of homes, hospitals and schools in Gaza were now spreading to Lebanon.
Israel and Hezbollah exchanged cross-border fire again on Tuesday, a day after the Israeli military launched a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon that have so far killed at least 569 people.
Israel's new offensive against Hezbollah has fueled fears that nearly a year of conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could erupt into a larger regional conflagration.
The Israeli military is shifting its attention from Gaza to the northern border, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.
Israel has made securing its northern border and allowing displaced residents to return a priority in its war, creating the conditions for a long conflict, while Hezbollah has said it will not back down until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
Muizzu also said Israel was trying to cover up its crimes by attacking Palestinian and Lebanese journalists, including by closing Al Jazeera offices in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
“How can we interpret this as anything other than a brutal attempt to prevent the world from knowing about the crimes that are taking place?” he asked.
“Israel must be held accountable for these acts of terrorism, for these violations of international law and UN resolutions.”
In June, Muizzu said his government would ban Israelis from entering the Maldives, known for its idyllic beaches and luxury resorts, as public anger mounted in the predominantly Muslim nation over Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, displaced nearly the entire population and left much of the enclave in ruins.
On Tuesday, he called for the world to accept a sovereign and independent Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“We must now ensure that Palestine becomes a full member of the UN,” he added.
In May, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the Palestinian bid for full UN membership, recognizing it as eligible to join and recommending that the UN Security Council “favorably reconsider the matter.” The United States had vetoed a Palestinian bid for full UN membership at the Security Council in April.
Muizzu calls for action against climate crisis
Muizzu also called on world leaders on Tuesday for additional support to combat the climate crisis, which threatens the very existence of the world's lowest-lying country.
“Climate change is the most serious threat to our world, the defining challenge of our generation. It is wiping out decades of progress in a matter of minutes,” he said.
“It is diverting already depleted resources from long-term development to emergency relief and reconstruction, preventing countries from adapting to climate impacts.”
He called on rich countries and the worst carbon emitters not only to honour existing financial commitments made to developing countries to help them adapt to climate change, but also to scale up that funding when the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP29, takes place in November.
“As we move towards COP29, we must ensure that the new target on climate finance matches the level of climate action required.”
