READER LETTER | Why is UN Security Council mum on Israel v Palestine conflict?

There is no doubt that the United Nations Security Council has long outlived its usefulness. It has become an embarrassing shell, to say the least.

This institution, which has been in existence for so many years, has failed dismally to bring about solutions between warring nations throughout the world. And in many cases, it has been the cause of such conflicts.

History tells that Palestine is the region that once stretched from the shores of the Mediterranean eastwards beyond the Jordan River. In May 1948, after the UN had voted to partition Palestine between the Jews and Arabs, the former accepted the plan while the latter rejected it.

Israel proclaimed its independence and Arabs tates attacked, but Israel won the war. In 1967, the conflict deepened duringthe Six Day War. At the conclusion of those hostilities, Israel occupied Arab East Jerusalem as well as land formerly held by Egypt (the Gaza Strip), Syria (the Golan Heights and Jordan (the West Bank of the Jordan River).

On October 7, Hamas made a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,400 Israelis. The result was the declaration of war by Israeli on occupied Gaza Strip. The question that begs an answer is, as people are being killed and Gaza infrastructure levelled to rubble, where is the UN Security Council? And why is it stone quiet? The world needs a transformed UN Security Council led by new members with new roles and responsibilities.

Abe Mokoena, Polokwane