ISRAEL COMMITTING GENOCIDE IN GAZA: IRAN FM

Tehran, 27 Ramadan 1435/25 July 2014 (MINA) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Israel occupation regime is committing “genocide” and “crimes against humanity” in Gaza as the regime ramps up its brutal offensive against the Palestinians.

On Thursday, Zarif voiced deep regret over the relentless carnage of Gazans at the hands of the Tel Aviv regime and said “under any international rule … these [Israeli] actions cannot be considered anything other than genocide, crimes against humanity and international crime.”

Zarif also described the Israeli onslaught against women and children in Gaza as “a flagrant example of war crimes,” and sharply criticized Muslim countries for remaining tight-lipped in the face of the regime’s brutalities, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Friday.

Muslim nations should set aside their differences and urge the international community to adopt serious measures to counter Israeli atrocities, added the top Iranian diplomat.

More than 800 people have so far been killed and over 5,000 others wounded since the Israeli military first launched its offensive on the Palestinian enclave on July 8.

The UN said in a report on July 23 on the ongoing Israeli aerial and ground assaults on the impoverished Gaza Strip have claimed the life of at least one Palestinian child every hour over the past couple of days.

On Wednesday, following a request by Palestine the United Nations Human Rights Council held an emergency meeting and voted to launch an inquiry into the Israeli violations of international laws in its bloody offensive on Gaza under a draft resolution.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has said Tel Aviv’s measures in its fresh wave of attacks on Gaza could amount to “war crimes.” (T/E01/IR)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)