Gaza War Will Leave Everyone a Loser, Says Palestinian Ambassador

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdullah Shawesh yesterday said the war on Gaza by the Israeli forces should be immediately put to an end as no one will emerge winner eventually.

Addressing journalists in Abuja at a forum organised by the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), he noted that it would be a mistake to take the ongoing hostilities as an Israeli/Palestinian problem, insisting that the entire world is interconnected and what affect one affects all. “In this war all of us are losers, but Israel is a bigger loser,” he maintained.

Shawesh insisted that the Palestine’s position deserved to be heard, stressing that it was not desperate for support.

He said: “We are not looking for support but we are seeking to be listened to. We are owed the moral duty of being listened to. No one is safe until everyone is safe. The international community should ensure peace returns to Gaza and Palestine.

“All resolutions at the UN concerning Palestine should be enforced. And no more lip service should be paid to decisions taken concerning Palestine.”

On Israel being a bigger loser in the ongoing standoff, Shawesh said the original plan of Israel to exterminate Palestine was yet unachieved and can never be achieved.

He added that since the start of the present hostilities, Israel had not been able to get any hostage released, noting that it is time for the Israeli forces to lay down their arms and come to the roundtable for a resolution of the age-long crisis.

The NSCIA had always called for immediate stop of the siege on Gaza, insisting that the attack by Hamas on Israel was reactionary.