During a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made remarks on Gaza, He said that Hamas's attacks were not isolated and indirectly criticised Israel for ordering the evacuation of civilians from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip. This provoked Israel, resulting in the suspension of visa issuance to UN officials.
Guterres on Tuesday stated, "The Palestinian people have endured 56 years of oppressive occupation. They've witnessed the steady expansion of settlements, persistent violence, a struggling economy, displacement, and the demolition of their homes. Their prospects for a political resolution to their situation have been diminishing."
Guterres emphasised that while the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify Hamas's attacks, those attacks also cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian population.
Guterres's "very balanced approach" was welcomed by many countries, as reported by Al Jazeera.
However, Israel expressed anger, with its officials even calling for the UN chief to resign. In protest, Israel's UN envoy expressed that "the time has come to teach them a lesson."
Israel's envoy to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, revealed on Wednesday that Israel had decided to suspend the issuance of visas for UN officials in response to Antonio Guterres's statements on the Middle East crisis.
Erdan stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the UN chief's speech amounted to "expressing an understanding for terrorism and murder."
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was present at the debate, was reportedly upset regarding the UN chief remarks and he called for the cancellation of a scheduled meeting with the secretary-general on Tuesday afternoon.
Israel's Foreign Minister
The Foreign Ministry took to Twitter, stating that Guterres's remarks "provoke anger and astonishment" and suggested that they tarnish both him and the organization he leads. They accused the UN and the Secretary-General of having a "biased and distorted attitude towards Israel."
The ministry called on the UN Secretary-General to retract his words, engage in personal reflection, and apologize for his statement. They emphasized that his remarks had distressed millions of Israelis, particularly in light of the terrorist attack on October 7.
Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, sent a letter to Guterres expressing shock over his statement, suggesting that it would have been better if he had said nothing at all. Edelstein accused Guterres of making statements that legitimise murderers, rapists, and terrorists worldwide, rendering his condemnations ineffective.
Israeli leaders and US President Joe Biden have highlighted that the October 7 attacks were the most significant assault on Jews since the Holocaust. Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan, who met with Guterres earlier in the year, expressed that the UN chief had not lived up to the responsibility of preventing such atrocities against Jews from happening again.
On the other hand, The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized Israel's demand for the UN secretary-general to resign, characterizing it as an "unprovoked attack." In a statement on social media, the ministry referred to Israel's stance as an "extension" of its disregard and lack of commitment to the UN, its charter, and resolutions related to Palestine.
Antonio said that he did not justify Hamas terror and His words on Gaza have been misinterpreted, later he shared an excerpt from his speech on X to demonstrate that he criticised both Hamas and Israel for the Gaza crisis, stating, "The suffering of the Palestinian people cannot justify the terrible attacks by Hamas, and those terrible attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."
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