Senegal defends Palestine at UN

Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the president of Senegal, boldly defended Palestine at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On 25 September, Diomaye Faye reminded listeners that Palestinians, including children, are living under oppression and war. As he mentioned, Senegal is the chair of the UN's Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

So far, Israel has k*lled more than 41,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli military and settler brutality have escalated in the West Bank. Multiple human-rights organisations have said Israel operates an apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

The people of Senegal have come out to mobilise in defence of Palestine over the past year. Perhaps this pushed Diomaye Faye to speak openly in defence of Palestinian people, an intervention that will be received favourably back home. However, Senegalese protests have also called for the closure of French military bases. Diomaye Faye has not yet responded favourably to those calls.