(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The United Nations and a long line of countries yesterday denounced Israel's attack on Qatar last week, decrying a "dangerous escalation" and demanding "accountability".
Israel's strikes on the Qatari capital on September 9 targeted Hamas leaders gathered to discuss a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza. Five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer were killed.
That strike "was a shocking breach of international law", UN rights chief Volker Turk said during an urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council about the strike.
Denouncing the attack as "an assault on regional peace and stability", he urged "accountability for unlawful killings".
His words were echoed by Qatar and dozens of country representatives who took the floor during the three-hour debate.
Qatar's Minister of State for International Cooperation HE Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser al-Misnad slammed Israel's "treacherous attack" and demanded that the international community "take practical steps to hold the aggressors accountable and prevent their impunity".
Her Excellency stated that the September 9 attack targeted a densely populated civilian area in the heart of the capital, Doha, near diplomatic missions, schools, kindergartens, and mosques - an area home to about five thousand people, including Qatari families as well as families of residents, children, and women.
She explained that this attack resulted in martyrs and injuries, including the martyr Corporal Badr Saad al-Dosari, 22, and 18 wounded. This is not only a blatant violation of the sovereignty of Qatar and the integrity of its territory, but also a grave breach of fundamental human rights, the right to life, security, and the protection of children and education, as enshrined in international covenants, primarily the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's ambassador Bilal Ahmad, whose country was among those that led the call for the urgent debate, warned that "this unjustifiable and unprovoked attack constitutes a dangerous escalation".
The council announced on Monday that it would convene the 10th urgent debate since its creation in 2006 following two official requests from members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Neither Israel nor its main ally the United States, which both disengaged from the council earlier this year, was present for the urgent debate.
There was little support for Israel's position during the debate.
European Union ambassador Deike Potzel stressed the bloc's "principled stance against terrorism in all its forms", while underlining its "support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar" and calling "on Israel to respect international law".
"We urge all parties to refrain from any actions that jeopardise mediation channels and regional stability," she said.
China's ambassador Chen Xu said his country "firmly rejects and categorically condemns" the September 9 attack, which he charged was "a deliberate attempt to derail the negotiation process".
Some of the harshest criticism came from South Africa, which has brought a case against Israel before the International Court of Justice, accusing it of committing genocide in Gaza.
The attack "strikes against the very heart of mediation processes",ambassador Mxolisi Nkosi told the council, adding that it "demonstrates that Israel does not want to end its genocidal war against the Palestinian people".
"It is time for the international community to demonstrate through practical countermeasures that Israel does not enjoy some form of special immunity from accountability."

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