UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
Israeli authorities strongly criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday. This was in response to his suggestion that the ongoing Israeli control of Palestinian territories played a role in motivating the devastating October 7 attack by the Hamas group on Israel. The Israeli Ambassador to the UN went as far as demanding his resignation.
It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” Guterres said, Guterres made this statement during a UN Security Council meeting discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict, which began when the terrorist group attacked Israeli border communities, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,400 people, with the majority of the casualties being civilians.
He further 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.”
Guterres added that “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,” an apparent reference to Israel’s ongoing campaign of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that Hamas officials say has killed thousands.
Guterres’s remarks sparked intense anger within Israel. UN envoy Gilad Erdan characterized them as “stunning” and insisted that the secretary general step down. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen canceled a scheduled meeting with Guterres, and Minister Benny Gantz denounced the UN chief as an “apologist for terrorism.”
The UN Secretary-General, who displays sympathy for the mass killing of children, women, and the elderly, is unfit to hold the leadership position at the UN. I urge him to step down without delay,” Erdan posted on X, “@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.“
Erdan Post on “X” demanding the resignation the UN Secretary – General
On X, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen declared that he would no longer engage in meetings with Guterres.
This decision followed a report from the Hamas-led Ministry of Health in Gaza, indicating that over 700 Palestinians had lost their lives due to Israeli airstrikes within a 24-hour period, marking the highest daily death toll since the onset of the bombardment.
According to the New York Times, more than 5,700 Palestinians have perished due to Israeli attacks since the commencement of the war.
Guterres, aged 74, assumed the role of the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations in October 2016, succeeding Ban Ki-Moon. He had previously served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 while leading the Portuguese Socialist Party.