Israel's envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday lambasted the speech by the body's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regarding the Hamas massacre.
It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum, Guterres said. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing. Gilad Erdan wrote on his X account that "the shocking speech," given "while rockets are being fired at all of Israel, proved conclusively, beyond any doubt, that the Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and that he views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner." The October 7 massacre, where over 1,400 Israelis were butchered by Palestinian terrorists in horrific circumstances, represents the worst atrocity committed against the Jews since the Holocaust.
Israel slams UN chief for saying Hamas attack did not happen in a vacuum, calls for his resignation
Israels ambassador to the United Nations is calling for the resignation of UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres after he said the Hamas attack on October 7 in which 1,400 people were killed did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation, Guterres said, according to Israeli outlet Haaretz, to the 15-member U.N. Security Council Tuesday after the Hamas-led Ministry of Health in Gaza reported more than 700 Palestinians were killed in 24 hours of Israeli airstrikes, the highest daily death toll since the bombardment began. But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian territories which are the West Bank and Gaza, in addition to East Jerusalem are widely recognized as occupied by Israel.
After the statement, Israels ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan called Guterres speech shocking on X, formerly Twitter, saying the Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region. There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people, he added on the social media platform. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced on X he would no longer meet with Guterres. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Palestinian Authoritys foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki also spoke to those assembled Tuesday, both appealing for mitigating harm to civilians in Gaza. More than 5,700 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, the New York Times reported.