By Takunda Mandura
The position of Western countries on the ongoing bombardment of Gaza by Israel is a clear sign of ''real'' double standards, Palestinian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Tamer Almassri said.
Ambassador Almassri described the Israeli actions as a ''genocide'' and decried the inaction of the International Criminal Court on it. There have been calls for the ICC to act on Israel's attacks against civilians in Gaza.
"Unfortunately, the ICC does not take any action against the Israeli criminals because they are not Africans," he told journalists in the Zimbabwean capital Harare.
"If they were African, they would arrest them and call them to the court, but because they are not with the black skin, they are free to make a genocide they want," he added.
The death toll in Gaza continues to mount. At least 4,100 Palestinians have been killed - most of them women and children - since Israel launched its bombing campaign about two weeks ago, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
No safe place
"No place, no centimetre is safe in Gaza Strip" the diplomat emphasised. The blockaded territory measuring 365sq kms has a population of 2.2 million.
According to Amb. Almassri, Israel as has no regard for international laws and human rights.
“We would like to emphasise the state of Israeli is a state ... established first and foremost through violence and is still using this violence in the most gruesome ways against our people,” he added.
He also accused Western countries of ''double standards'' saying they have turned a ''blind eye'' on Israel's attacks against Palestinians which is different from their response to Russia-Ukraine war.
