TEHRAN – Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaii on Friday called for an immediate prosecution of Israeli leaders for their crimes in the war on Gaza.

He said Israel’s incursions on Gaza are blatant examples of war crimes and the United Nations should immediately respond to the legitimate demands of the international community to begin investigations into Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.
Khazaii made the remarks in a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement representatives with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has also called for independent investigations into possible war crimes after Israel’s shelling of a UN school compound which killed 42 people, including women and children, on January 6.
The Iranian envoy said the international community should pressure Israel to completely withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip, lift the siege on the coastal strip, open all border crossings into the territory, and allow humanitarian aid to be distributed among Gazans.
Khazaii also called on the international community to take urgent action to reconstruct Gaza under the UN leadership.
“The people of Gaza who have been the target of the Zionist regime’s crimes and the indifference of some international organizations should not be left alone any longer and the international community is duty-bound to rush to their help,” he stressed.
The Iranian diplomat said the United Nations should also conduct serious investigations into the use of phosphorus bombs by Israeli troops during the war on Gaza.
He said, “Israel’s attacks on UN schools show that it is not committed to international law and therefore it is necessary that the United Nations take legal action against Israel’s impudent violation of this principle that the UN compounds must not to be attacked.”