Israel has forgotten Holocaust lessons
The diplomat spoke at an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Sunday, convened after West Jerusalem approved the takeover – a move that has drawn global criticism.
Polyansky said the decision would deepen Gaza's humanitarian crisis, derail prospects for a two-state Israel and Palestine solution, and amount to formal recognition of an occupation regime.
'We firmly condemn the Netanyahu government's intention to seize Gaza,' he said, adding that the Jewish State had once again ignored international appeals and the pleas from relatives of the Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian militants from Hamas.
About 50 hostages remain unaccounted for in Gaza – with only around 20 of them believed to still be alive – following Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, were killed and 251 abducted.
Polyansky accused Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar of hypocrisy, saying he had shed 'crocodile tears' over the captives while knowing the cabinet was preparing to approve the military operation. The decision, he claimed, doomed any chance of bringing them home alive.
He added he could not understand how the Jewish people, having endured the Holocaust during World War II, could now place Palestinians 'in ghettos' and seek their complete destruction – a sign, Polyansky said, of how quickly the lessons of history can be forgotten.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet approved the plan on Friday as part of what it called 'concluding the war' with Hamas. The move came despite the military warning it could endanger the hostages and trigger a humanitarian disaster. The objectives endorsed include disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, and demilitarizing Gaza. Netanyahu said the territory would later be handed over to unspecified 'Arab forces' to govern.
The plan has been condemned by multiple Western nations – excluding the US – and sparked one of the largest anti-war protests yet seen in Israel.
Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign against Hamas, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
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