Collective punishment being used in Gaza: Putin
5 Min Read
Putin expressed his belief that resolving the issue in Palestine relied on the creation of a sovereign independent Palestinian state.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin while speaking to the media in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on October 13, 2023(AP)
During a government meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that instead of going after what he described as 'terrorists', the Israelis are using collective punishment.
"We remember how the current round of the Middle East crisis began — with a terrorist attack against civilians of Israel and other countries on the territory of this state. We also see that instead of punishing criminals and terrorists, unfortunately, they began to take revenge on the principle of collective responsibility," Putin said.
Putin has previously drawn parallels between the siege on Gaza imposed by "Israel" and the Siege of Leningrad from 1941 to 1944.
The United States requires a perpetual crisis in the Middle East, so nations and institutions advocating for an end to the violence—such as the United Nations—are discredited, Putin remarked.
“They don’t need lasting peace in the Holy Land, they need constant chaos in the Middle East, so they do their best to discredit those countries that insist on an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, on stopping the bloodshed, and are ready to contribute to resolving the crisis."
"Even the UN, which clearly expressed the position of the world community, is subject to attacks, real persecution, and attempts to discredit it," Putin said at a government meeting.
The Russian President also expressed that a government meeting would be held on Monday to discuss the situation.
He emphasized that the situation in the Middle East would be touched on, in addition to ensuring "law and order in Russia."
Putin expressed that the meeting will also touch on "the protection of the rights of Russian citizens and public safety of civil peace and interethnic harmony, including taking into account external threats."
Additionally, Putin requested a report from Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu regarding the latest developments in the special military operation as well as his recent visit to China.
Putin also expressed his belief that resolving the issue in Palestine relied on the creation of a sovereign independent Palestinian state."
Recently, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that a peace proposal cannot be put forward for the sake of announcing a settlement initiative but rather it must be put forward to truly implement the clauses of the proposals.
According to Peskov, the initiative must first be worked out in detail with all parties to the war, saying that "to come forward with a settlement initiative, it must be properly formulated, it needs to be discussed with everyone, we need to understand the positions of the sides, we need to understand all of the trends."
US House representative says "Israel" is trying to hide its crimes
Cori Bush, the US representative for Missouri's 1st congressional district, commented on the Israeli decision to cut all internet and cellular communication in Gaza, stressing that "collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza is a war crime."
Bush said in a post on X: "Israel has cut off all internet and cellular communication in Gaza. They don’t want the world to see what they are doing," adding, "We must not look away from this violence, especially during a blackout."
She proceeded to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, at a time when the United States contradicted its claims by calling for a humanitarian pause in Gaza, then voting against it at the UNGC session.
The manager of Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza Riyadh Meqdad warned on Monday that the besieged enclave is on the brink of depleting its blood bag supply within the next week due to the ongoing intense Israeli aggression on the people of Gaza, Al-Alam news network reports.
According to Meqdad, despite the generous amounts of blood donations, Gaza is grappling with a severe deficiency in blood reserves, adding that over the past 24 hours, more than 300 injured civilians were transferred to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
A report by Save the Children states that more children have been killed in Gaza since the attacks on October 7 than those killed in conflicts around the world every year since 2019.
Referencing Palestinian Health authorities, the report stated that at least 3,324 children have been murdered so far and 36 were killed in the West Bank.
In comparison, reports from the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict show that a total of 2,985 children were killed in 24 countries in 2022, 2,515 in 2021, and 2,674 in 2020 across 22 countries.
