December 9, 2023
Erdogan: UNSC has become the 'Israel protection council', needs reform
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the United Nations Security Council UNSC has become an "Israel protection council" in the past two months, adding that it requires reform following a US veto that blocked a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, despite the overwhelming majority voting in favor.
"Since October 7, the security council has become an Israel protection and defense council," Erdogan said during a human rights convention in Istanbul, adding that "every day the Declaration of Human Rights is violated in Gaza."
In the 15-member board, 13 voted in favor, the UK abstained, while the US was the only country to oppose the resolution. This meeting came as four previous drafts had been rejected by the Security Council.
Erdogan pointed out that the United States was the only member to reject the ceasefire, asking, "Is this justice?...the [UNSC] needs to be reformed."
"The world is bigger than five," he added, referring to the five permanent UNSC members with veto powers.
"Another world is possible, but without America," the Turkish President continued.
"The United States stands by Israel with its money and military equipment. Hey, America! How much are you going to pay for that?"
US rejects 'unconditional ceasefire'
Commenting on the veto, the US deputy representative at the UN, Robert Wood, said the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would have not moved the needle forward on the ground."
Meanwhile, he defended its solo move and attacked the resolution's sponsors, criticizing them for "rushing it through" and leaving the call for an unconditional ceasefire unchanged.
Read more: US not 'pulling brakes' or giving 'Israel' deadline for war on Gaza
Wood explained that the US decision to shoot down the resolution was due to it still "[containing] a call for an unconditional ceasefire... it would leave Hamas in place able to repeat what it did on October 7."
Gaza's 'humanitarian crisis is apocalyptic'
The US veto power comes after the Palestinian Health Ministry revealed that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza has risen to 17,487 martyrs, over 70% of which are children and women, with 56,400 citizens injured with various injuries since October 7.
UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk described the situation in Gaza earlier this week as an "apocalyptic" humanitarian circumstance, emphasizing the high risk of atrocities being committed by "Israel".
"Civilians in Gaza continue to be relentlessly bombarded by Israel and collectively punished -- suffering death, siege, destruction and deprivation of the most essential human needs such as food, water, lifesaving medical supplies and other essentials on a massive scale," he said in a press conference.
"Palestinians in Gaza are living in utter, deepening horror," Turk said, after quoting his colleagues who saw Gaza's state as "apocalyptic".
White House interns call for end of Gaza 'genocide'
In contrast, two days earlier, a cohort of White House interns, in a letter addressed to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, urged the administration to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The letter, supported by over 40 interns from the Fall 2023 term working across White House and executive offices, accuses Biden of neglecting the "pleas of the American people," specifically describing the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza as a "genocide of the Palestinian people."