Irish President Calls on UN Chief to Use Chapter Seven Powers to End Gaza Crisis

Irish President Michael Daniel Higgins has urged the United Nations to invoke Chapter Seven of its Charter against Israel in an effort to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

President Higgins appealed to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to invoke Chapter Seven powers that allow to bypass the Security Council to take enforcement action, including the use of force, to protect international peace and security.

“I am personally in favor of the secretary-general of the UN using Chapter Seven procedure, by which, whether or not the Security Council agrees, and even if there's a blockage, the right exists for the secretary-general to seek to put together an international defense of a corridor,” Turkey’s Anadolu Agency quoted the Irish president, citing a broadcast by Ireland’s national television, RTE News.

Higgins said that Guterres should invoke the UN Charter’s Chapter Seven to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, which he described as “incredible destruction of an entire people.”

“Are we to watch children starving, women dehydrated, or trying to feed their children?” he said.

Israel has imposed a crippling siege on Gaza since early March, restricting the entry of food, water, and other basic supplies into the territory. The regime has also set up its own aid distribution centers to replace UN-run zones. The centers however have caused global outcry as a growing number of aid seekers have been shot dead by Israeli forces, while waiting to get food.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 1,370 Palestinian aid seekers have lost their lives in fatal shootings by Israeli forces since May 27.

On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei called on the international community to put an arms embargo on Israel as part of measures to end the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza.