United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday sought to clarify his remarks that “Hamas attack didn’t happen in a vacuum” and said that he spoke of the grievances of Palestinian people and his words were not justifying acts of terror by Hamas.
Addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday, Guterres said while nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians but added that it was “important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum”.
His remarks triggered a massive outrage with angry Israel demanding the UN Chief’s resignation for what they call was “justifying the terrorist attack by Hamas militants on Israel”.
Responding to the criticism, the UN Secretary General said that he was “shocked by misrepresentations” of his remarks and clarified that his words were “not justifying acts of terror by Hamas” and he had condemned the “horrifying acts of terror” by Hamas in Israel.
“Indeed, I spoke of the grievances of the Palestinian people…. In doing so, I clearly stated, and I quote: ‘But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas’,” the UN chief added.
Disgrace to UN he didn’t retract his words: Israel once again demands UN chief’s resignation
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, has reacted angrily to Guterres’s clarification remarks and once again demanded his resignation.
“It is a disgrace to the UN that the Secretary-General does not retract his words and is not even able to apologize for what he said yesterday. He must resign,” said Erdan.
Erdan accused the UN chief of blaming Israel for Hamas’s brutal October 7 attack, saying he “distorts and twists reality.”
“Every person understands very well that the meaning of his words is that Israel has guilt for the actions of Hamas or, at the very least, it show his understanding for the ‘background’ leading up to the massacre.
“A secretary general who does not understand that the murder of innocents can never be understood by any ‘background’ cannot be secretary general,” he added.
In response to the UN Chief’s remarks, Israel said it will not issue visas to key UN officials.
More than 1,400 people were brutally murdered in the brutal October 7 attack by the militants of Palestinian Islamic militant outfit Hamas.
The militants invaded Israel under the cover of thousands of rocket barrages and rampage through Israeli communities near the Gaza border, brutally murdering babies, their mothers and fathers.
The Hamas militants also kidnapped more than 210 people, including foreign nationals.