Israel's alleged use of banned white phosphorus munitions in the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict was brought forward by Damascus amid concerning new reports of such incidents.
In an address at the 4th Session of the Conference on establishing a Middle East Zone free of nuclear and other forms of weapons of mass destruction, Dr. Al-Hakam Dandi, the acting charge d’affaires of Syria's Permanent Delegation to the UN, brought to the forefront Syria's profound concerns.
The official reiterated the nation's appeal to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to actively engage in its responsibilities, stressing the urgency for the IAEA to adopt a proactive stance in revealing the secretive military nuclear program of Israel, which, in Syria's perspective, poses a persistent threat to international peace and stability.
“Our region has endured decades of instability, predominantly due to the ongoing Israeli occupation of Arab territories and the subsequent violations of international and humanitarian laws by the occupying forces,” Dandi articulated to the media.
Dandi further highlighted the severe risks to regional and global tranquility emanating from Israel's arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, which receive substantial support from the United States and some Western allies.
The Syrian diplomat specifically condemned the use of white phosphorus - an internationally banned substance - by Israeli forces in civilian areas in Gaza and Lebanon. This necessitates, he argued, an in-depth investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into Israel's employment of such weaponry.
Dandi also pointed out the paradox wherein Israel, with the backing of certain Western nations - notably the United States, remains the sole Middle Eastern state equipped with such weapons while eschewing international supervision of its nuclear facilities.
The diplomat referenced Syria's longstanding commitment to non-proliferation, evidenced by its early adoption of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, in addition to its adherence to both the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), thereby fulfilling its international commitments.
“My country expresses its readiness to work seriously and openly with all delegations of countries participating in this conference and looks forward to reaching a legally binding treaty to establish the free zone in the Middle East that guarantees security for the peoples of our region and the world,” the Syrian diplomat concluded.