President John Dramani Mahama has urged the international community to speak plainly about the ongoing crisis in Gaza, insisting that crimes against Palestinians must stop.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, September 25, he criticised attempts to sanitise the situation with euphemisms.

“For nearly two years, and for the fear of reprisal, we here in this General Assembly have been playing hide-and-seek with language to find the right words to help us avoid or excuse what we all know is taking place there,” he said.

“But here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter what you call it: if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, well then... it must be a duck. The crimes in Gaza must stop,” he declared.

Mr Mahama reaffirmed Ghana’s support for a two-state solution, dismissing claims that such a move would reward Hamas.

“A two-state solution would not be a reward for Hamas but, rather, a reprieve for the hundreds of thousands of innocent people who have been facing collective punishment and forced starvation,” he said.

He also condemned the recent denial of visas to President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian delegation, describing it as “a bad precedent” that undermined the UN’s mandate.