Israel’s envoy calls for the resignation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations

Israel’s representative to the United Nations called for the resignation of the organization’s Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, after his statements regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas and work in Gaza.

He speaks on Tuesday At a UN Security Council meeting, Guterres repeated his call for a humanitarian halt to the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has been cut off from Israel’s supplies of fuel, food, water and electricity. Israel is waging a military campaign against the Palestinian Hamas movement, which launched a multi-pronged attack against Israel two weeks ago.

While Guterres said that he “unequivocally condemns the horrific and unprecedented terrorist acts committed by Hamas in Israel on October 7,” he said, “It is important to also realize that Hamas’ attacks did not occur in a vacuum,” referring to “56 years of The suffocation “occupation” that the Palestinian people suffer from.

He added, “The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks launched by Hamas.” “Nothing can justify the intentional killing, wounding and kidnapping of civilians, or the launching of missiles at civilian targets.”

Last week, Guterres traveled to Egypt to supervise United Nations preparations to send a humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen responded to the letter by listing the names of children killed in Hamas attacks and asking: “Mr. Secretary-General, what world do you live in? Certainly, this is not our world.”

It is later It was posted in a social media update translated by Google And that he will not meet with Guterres and that “there is no room for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased from the world!”

In a press conference following the UN Security Council meeting, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s representative to the United Nations, called for Guterres’ resignation due to his statements.

“The United Nations is failing, and you, Mr. Secretary-General, have lost all morality and impartiality. Because when you say those terrible words that these heinous attacks did not happen in a vacuum, you are tolerating terrorism, and I believe that the Secretary-General must resign.” “Because from now on, every day he is here in this building, unless he apologizes immediately. Today, we called him to apologize, there is no justification for his presence in this building.”

The United Nations did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

In a social media post translated by GoogleErdan later described Guterres’ speech as “shocking” and said: “It is sad that at the head of an organization that emerged after the Holocaust is a person who holds such views.”

The diplomatic conflict with Guterres coincides with emerging tensions between the Israeli army and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which has repeatedly called for safe passage to distribute resources in the Gaza Strip and provide additional supplies, most importantly fuel. Without that, it says it will need to end operations on Wednesday evening. The IDF insisted that there were quantities of fuel inside Gaza, and asked UNRWA to “ask Hamas if you can get some of it.”

Israel has come under intense criticism from human rights groups, who question whether Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip was proportionate, and whether the displacement and harm to Palestinian civilians risks Israel violating international law. Many Western officials, including its close ally Washington, have stressed Israel’s right to self-defense in the wake of Hamas attacks.