The Human Rights Council is considering Friday a call for an arms embargo on Israel

Geneva - Together - Next Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Council will consider a draft resolution calling for an arms embargo on Israel, warning of 'the possibility of genocide in Gaza.' The text condemned "Israel's use of explosive weapons on a large scale" in populated areas in the Gaza Strip, and calls on Israel to "fulfill its legal responsibility to prevent genocide." If the draft resolution is adopted, this will be the first position taken by the Human Rights Council regarding the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October. Pakistan submitted the text on behalf of 55 of the 56 countries in the United Nations that are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, with the exception of Albania. It also enjoys support from Bolivia and Cuba, in addition to the State of Palestine. Friday's session will be the last of the current session of the Human Rights Council. The eight-page text calls on Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories a nd immediately stop its 'illegal siege' of the Gaza Strip, and any other form of 'collective punishment.' It calls for an end to all transfers of weapons, ammunition and other military equipment, noting the impact of explosive weapons on hospitals, schools, shelters, and the supply of water and electricity to Gaza, and condemns 'the use of starvation of civilians as a means of war.' The text calls for an immediate ceasefire and condemns 'Israeli actions that could amount to ethnic cleansing,' and urges all concerned countries to prevent the forced displacement of Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip. Last week, the UN Security Council in New York adopted a resolution calling for an 'immediate ceasefire,' a demand that the United States had previously blocked several times, but this time it abstained from voting on it. But this had no effect on the ground. The draft resolution submitted to the Human Rights Council calls on member states to ensure that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) receives adequate funding. It calls on Israel to stop expanding its settlements in the Palestinian territories. The number of member states in the Human Rights Council is 47, 18 of which previously supported the draft resolution. Reaching an absolute majority requires 24 votes, but the decision can be passed with fewer votes in the event of abstention. The death toll in the Gaza Strip since the start of the aggression rose to 32,975 martyrs, the majority of whom were children and women, and the toll of injuries to 75,577, while thousands of victims remain under the rubble, and ambulance and rescue crews cannot reach them. Source: Maan News Agency