Iran vs Israel: We Don’t Want Escalation – Palestinian Envoy

Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Nigeria, Abdallah Abu Shawesh, has expressed concerns about the drones and missile attacks unleashed on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran in retaliation of alleged  attacks that killed  Iranian generals in Syria blamed on Israel.

The envoy told a news conference in Abuja on Monday that the involvement of Iran in the crisis between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will complicate the situation” and could affect their quest to seek freedom from Israeli occupation.

He said, “We are not in a position to see the escalation of this crisis,” adding that Palestine is already grappling with massive deaths and humanitarian crisis caused by the ” genocidal war” Israel is waging against Palestinians in Gaza.

According to the envoy, as of April 12, 33,634 had been killed and at least 76, 214 wounded in in the Gaza Strip, adding that 462 Palestinians were killed in the Occupied West bank and East Jerusalem. This was apart from 13, 000 Palestinians he said were reported missing in Gaza since the start of the on going war.

Shawesh quoted Euro- Med Human Rights Monitor as saying that ” in Gaza children are dying at an alarming rate- thousands have been killed and thousands more injured. They do not have access to water, food, fuel and medicine. More than 600, children are trapped in Rafah alone with nowhere safe to go. Their homes have been destroyed, their families are torn apart.”

The envoy disclosed that the war in Gaza has taken a huge toll on the economy of the Palestinian people, stressing that the World Bank and UN joint report stated that the cost of the damage to the critical infrastructure in Gaza is estimated at $18.5 billion, an equivalent to 97% of the Gross Domestic Product of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

He however, sounded confident that despite initial setback ocassioned  by the US veto, the Palestinian leadership has renewed its request to activate the application  for full membership of the State of Palestine  in the United Nations.

On Monday, there were indications the face- off between Iran and Israel could lead to  war as Israel’s war cabinet got into a heated debate  about how and when to respond to the drones and missile attacks perpetrated  againt Israeli territory on Saturday by Iran.

Iran said it carried out the attacks in retaliation for the killing of its generals in a missile attacks in its consulate in Syria allegedly perpetrated by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied the attacks.

Although most of the drones and missile were intercepted by the Isreali air defence systems, Israel appears ready to hit Iran hard.

The war cabinet said the country is determined to respond to Iran’s attack, but as it convenes Monday afternoon, its members continue to debate the timing and scope of such a response, the officials said.