Qalibaf made the remarks while addressing an extraordinary session of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, which was held as a webinar on Monday.
The Iranian Parliament speaker stressed that if the Israeli crimes in Gaza persist, the situation will rapidly get out of control.
The Israeli regime has been pounding Gaza for ten consecutive days by air, sea and land, targeting mainly civilian buildings and infrastructure. It has also imposed a complete siege on the narrow strip of land, depriving its population of 2.3 million of basic necessities of life. At least 2,750 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli air strikes on Gaza, and nearly 10,000 others wounded.
The strikes began shortly after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched a multi-pronged surprise attack on the Israeli regime, with thousands of rockets fired into the occupied territories and Palestinian fighters infiltrating Israeli bases and illegal settlements.
Qalibaf condemned the all-out siege imposed on Gaza, which has cut off vital supplies such as water, electricity, medicine, and food to the coastal enclave.
“The blockade of Gaza and cutting off the supply of water, electricity, medicine and food to this area is a clear example of genocide,” he declared.
“In addition, the use of non-conventional military weapons such as banned phosphorus bombs in these attacks violates international conventions on the prohibition of chemical weapons,” he added.
The Parliament speaker noted that the Israeli regime is currently at “a political and social impasse” and is willing to set the entire region ablaze for the sake of perpetuating its survival.
With tensions high in East Asia due to the US militarism and the Ukraine war reshaping the global political landscape, Qalibaf warned that another conflict in the region could change the course of history “within a matter of hours".
He pointed out that the United States is “deeply complicit” in human rights violations committed by Israel against Palestinians by continuing to provide military aid to the occupying regime.
“The parliaments of Islamic countries should ask America to change its policy on Gaza and demand an end to the siege,” he said.
Qalibaf further urged Islamic nations to hold international companies that assist the Israeli regime accountable for their role in violating the rights of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Given the urgent needs of Palestinians in Gaza, Qalibaf stressed that Islamic parliaments must urgently advocate for the swift reopening of crossings into the blockaded territory to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
More than a million Palestinians have fled their homes ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.
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