United Nations
Israel’s UN ambassador calls on Guterres to resign
The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres. photo
© Craig Ruttle/AP/dpa
The Hamas terrorist attack “did not take place in a vacuum,” says the UN Secretary General – and is causing controversy. Israel’s ambassador speaks of a “pure blood libel”.
The Israeli ambassador to the The United Nations has called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to resign over his comments on the Middle East war.
Guterres’ statement before the UN Security Council that the terrorist act by the Islamist Hamas should be seen in the context of the decades-long oppression of the Palestinians by the Israelis was a “pure blood libel,” said Gilad Erdan in New York on Tuesday. The UN chief doesn’t care about the suffering of the Israeli civilian population. “I think the secretary general has to resign,” Erdan said. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen had previously canceled his planned meeting with Guterres.
Guterres had criticized the Israeli counterattacks in the Gaza Strip and spoke of “clear violations of international humanitarian law”. Although he condemned the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, he said it “did not take place in a vacuum.” In this context, Guterres spoke of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.