UN Secretary-General António Guterres provoked outrage among Israeli UN officials at the General Assembly held on Tuesday, September 24, when he accused Israel of ‘collective punishment’ of the Palestinians in Gaza and warned of similar destruction in Lebanon.
During his opening speech at the annual event at the UN headquarters in New York, Guterres said that „nothing can justify the abhorrent acts of terror committed by Hamas on October 7 or the taking of hostages, both of which I have repeatedly condemned,” adding that „and nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” His latter comment was welcomed by a round of applause, reports The Times of Israel.
Guterres said that the „speed and scale of the destruction and killing in Gaza are unlike anything in my years as secretary-general.” He also noted that over 200 UN staff have been killed in the war.
He stressed that the UN still provides services in Gaza, and said to the assembled officials: „I know you join me in paying a special tribute to UNRWA,” the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has proven of having a part in the October 7 Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel, and that has been proved to having ties to terrorism, as well as inciting hatred and antisemitism through education. Multiple European nations have cut funding for UNRWA in the past few years after considerable evidence was gathered that the UN agency’s textbooks are used to incite hatred by glorifying terror against Israel.
Guterres said that the international community „must mobilise for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, and the beginning of an irreversible process toward a two-state solution.”
„What is the alternative? How can the world accept one state in which a large number of Palestinians will be included without any freedom, any rights, or dignity?” he asked.
Guterres also expressed alarm over the recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have been attacking Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis in solidarity with the Hamas terrorist organisation.
„Gaza is a nonstop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it,” he said. „Look no further than Lebanon. We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is on the brink. The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
In response, UN Ambassador Danny Danon blasted the assembly’s reaction to Guterres’s speech. „When the UN secretary-general speaks about the release of our hostages, the UN assembly remains silent,” he said, „but when he speaks about the suffering in Gaza, he receives wild applause. This is the opening signal for the annual show of hypocrisy.”
„The UN is neither acknowledging their actions nor fulfilling its fundamental obligation – preventing Hezbollah attacks and demanding the implementation of resolution 1701,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of the resolution that ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War and that requires Hezbollah to disarm and withdraw north of the Litani River. In his statement on X, he wrote that Hezbollah has taken „Lebanon hostage.”
„UN Secretary-General Guterres, if Hezbollah continues to act against Israel, Lebanon will look exactly like Gaza,” warned Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen in a post on X. „The real nightmare, which you have already forgotten, occurred on October 7, when thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and murdered women and children and kidnapped civilians.” Cohen noted that Hezbollah had decided to join Hamas’s attack on Israel and accused Guterres of encouraging terrorism. He vowed that Israel would continue to operate against both groups to prevent another massacre.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
More News
