Top MP describes damage to Gaza environment unprecedented

On Sunday August 24, Javan Newspaper quoted Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani as saying that in addition to human catastrophe, the recent Israeli invasion of Gaza has done unprecedented damage to the environment of the Palestinian coastal enclave. Here is an excerpt of the article that appeared in the daily:

A 17th General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Conference on Environment and Development, also known as APPCED, opened in Tehran on August 23, 2014. The gathering was meant to raise awareness about the significance of efforts to preserve Mother Nature and promote laws that govern the protection of the environment. Economic development as well as the environmental damage the Gaza Strip has suffered as a result of the Israeli invasion was brought up at the gathering. […]

In a keynote speech at the meeting, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said improper treatment of the environment has put the entire planet in danger. […]

He further said, “For almost two months, the Zionist regime’s bombs which have been as powerful as six nuclear devices in total, have been raining down on the defenseless people of Gaza. I regret to say that the Zionist crimes have met with silence and/or indifference on the part of the international community and many countries.”

The top MP further said that more than 2,000 Palestinians, most of them children, women and elderly people have been martyred in the Gaza Strip. “Thousands more have been injured and urban facilities have suffered substantial damage. What concerns this gathering here is that the damage caused to the environment during the offensive has been unprecedented.” […]