Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh, the Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, has condemned the ongoing military campaign by Israel, supported by the United States, against the Palestinian people. In a statement released on Tuesday, Shawesh described the conflict as a “wake-up call for all humanity,” urging the international community to take decisive action.
Marking 334 days since the onset of the conflict, Shawesh highlighted the devastating toll on Palestinian civilians. According to the latest figures, 40,738 Palestinians have been killed and 94,154 injured, with thousands still missing under the rubble. Women and children represent approximately 70% of the casualties, while 4% of the victims are elderly. The situation, Shawesh noted, is a stark reminder of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank.
Shawesh criticized the global response, suggesting that the ongoing massacres serve as a warning to countries of the Global South, demonstrating the consequences of defying the current global political and economic systems. “They are deliberately streaming and televising the genocide,” Shawesh said, accusing Israel and its allies of undermining international law and setting a dangerous precedent for other nations.
The conflict has also seen a sharp increase in arrests, with 10,400 Palestinians detained in the West Bank since October 7. Among those detained are 725 children, 400 women, and 98 journalists. Shawesh expressed concern over the treatment of those in custody, revealing that more than 60 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons, many due to medical neglect.
The war has had severe consequences on the education system in Gaza, where 600,000 children have been denied schooling for a second consecutive year. In addition, approximately 70% of schools operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) have been damaged or destroyed, many now serving as overcrowded shelters for displaced families.
Shawesh also pointed to the violence in the West Bank, where Israeli settlers, accompanied by soldiers, have been attacking Palestinian communities. Since the beginning of the war, 681 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed, and nearly 6,700 injured.
The ambassador called out major arms exporters, particularly the United States, for supplying Israel with weapons in violation of the Arms Trade Treaty. Since the start of the war, 50,000 tons of military equipment have been sent to Israel, contributing to the escalating violence in the region. Shawesh accused the U.S. and other Western nations of fueling the conflict by continuing arms transfers despite evidence of war crimes committed by Israeli forces.
In his appeal, Shawesh called on the international community to enforce international law and United Nations resolutions, using all available diplomatic, legal, political, and economic measures to stop what he described as “American-Israeli carnage and bloodshed.”
“No one is safe until everyone is safe,” Shawesh concluded, urging immediate global action to end the violence and restore peace in the region.