UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour on Friday criticized Israel's killing of civilians and called on the international community to condemn this aggression.
"Today is our national day... we bury our martyrs, the civilians killed by the Israeli occupying forces during this current aggression, which we condemn," the ambassador told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.
"We demand from the international community, especially the Security Council, to condemn this aggression and to stop it, to shoulder its responsibility in connection with international peace and security," the envoy added.
Mansour said he was grateful to countries and parties that called for an "independent, transparent" investigation on this crime and to hold "in an accountable way" the criminals who have committed this crime and to bring them to justice from the Israeli side.
A new wave of tension between Israel and Gaza militants which ended on Thursday morning with a fragile ceasefire had killed 35 Palestinians and wounded 110 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
He also expressed his gratitude to countries that have voted in favor of extending the mandate of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for another three years, noting that UNRWA is one of the successful stories of the United Nations.
The UN Fourth Committee voted on Friday to extend UNRWA's mandate until 2023, with no major changes.
Some 170 countries voted in favor, and seven countries, including Guatemala and Canada, abstained. The United States and Israel were the only two countries that opposed the resolution.
"The international community is not about to abandon it. It is supporting it," said the Palestinian ambassador.
