New York | Israel has demanded the resignation of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres from his position over his remarks against the Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza after terror attacks by Hamas on October 7.
The Israeli envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan called Guterres "unfit" to lead the UN and called for his resignation.
"The @UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN. I call on him to resign immediately. 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. There are simply no words," he stated on social media platform X.
This came after the UN chief said that the attacks by Hamas "did not happen in a vacuum" further adding that the attacks cannot justify the "collective punishment of the Palestinian people".
"It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. 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," the UN chief said at the General Assembly.
He added, "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".
Addressing the UN General Assembly session on Israel-Gaza crisis, Cohen said, "Mr Secretary General (Guterres), in what world do you live? Definitely, this is not our world".
In a fiery response, Eli Cohen announced that he won't be meeting the UN Secretary General.
"I will not meet with the UN Secretary General. After October 7th there is no room for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased from the world!" Cohen posted on X.
Tel Aviv | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' comments during a special session of the UN Security Council on the war in Gaza against the terrorist group Hamas were met with shock and disappointment by Israel's delegation.
Guterres only made perfunctory condemnations of the Hamas attack while taking the opportunity to repeat what can only be called Hamas propaganda.
"It is important to also recognise that the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum," he 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."
He did acknowledge, however, that family members of the more than 200 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were in attendance and called for the release of all of the hostages.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan wasted no time criticising Guterres' words. He posted a statement on Twitter saying, "The shocking speech by the UN Secretary-General at the Security Council meeting, 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 Secretary General's statement that, "the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum," said Ambassador Erdan, "expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder. It's really unfathomable. It's truly sad that the head of an organisation that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views. A tragedy!"
