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Wednesday, October 25, 2023

News from the UN. "Shocked at misrepresentation." It shocked me too, the unparalled boldness of vitriol spewed over the entirely truthful statement that the Hamas attack did not happen in a vacuum.

Link -https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142802 

Peace and Security

The UN Secretary-General on Wednesday firmly rebuked what he described as the “false” claim by top Israeli diplomats that he had sought to justify the terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas in a speech he delivered to the Security Council. 

Addressing Tuesday’s debate in the Council on the worsening crisis in Israel and Palestine, the UN chief said that although nothing could justify the “appalling” attacks by Hamas of 7 October which triggered the siege and bombardment of Gaza, it was important to recognize they “did not happen in a vacuum” and did not justify the collective punishment of Palestinians.

Following Secretary-General António Guterres’ briefing on Tuesday, Israel’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan tweeted that, in effect, Mr. Guterres's speech had sought to justify Hamas's brutal assault which left some 1,400 dead, mainly civilians.

Resignation demand

He demanded that the UN chief resign, and later said that Israel would now withhold visas from UN officials.

Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen also accused Mr. Guterres of justifying terrorism and cancelled a planned bilateral meeting with the UN chief on Tuesday.

Later on Tuesday the UN chief met some of the families of those taken hostage by Hamas fighters, and reaffirmed his call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those being held in violation of international law inside Gaza. 

Shocked at misrepresentation

In a statement to correspondents at the stakeout outside the Security Council on Wednesday morning, Mr. Guterres said he was “shocked by the misrepresentation by some of my statement.”

Acknowledging that he had indeed spoken of Palestinian grievances, he stressed he had also said in the Council that “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.”

Without referring to Israeli diplomats specifically, the UN chief said it was “necessary to set the record straight – especially out of respect to the victims and to their families.”

Without a truthful perspective the Israeli DISPROPORTIONATE infliction of death and destruction against the people who live in Gaza cannot be sanely addressed.

AP had previously reported:

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli officials were outraged Wednesday over U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ comment that the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel “did not happen in a vacuum,” calling it justification for terrorism. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen canceled a scheduled meeting with Guterres while Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, said the U.N. chief “failed the test.”

“I will not meet with the UN secretary-general. After the October 7 massacre, there is no place for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased off the face of the planet!” Cohen posted Tuesday on social platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Israel’s envoy to the U.N. Gilad Erdan called for his resignation, saying Israel must rethink its relations with the world body.

“We will refuse to grant visas to U.N. representatives. We have already refused to give one to Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths,” Erdan told Army Radio, accusing Guterres of justifying a slaughter. “It’s time to teach them a lesson.”

It most certainly smells of an Israeli false-outrage attempt to quell true news of what's happening now and likely to be happening once the ground offensive is begun. It is as if saying this will not be tolerated is really saying, try it as an excuse to go ahead with war crimes while having a figleaf excuse to hide the truth as Israel devestates Gazans who have nowhere to go and no blame for what a handful of others did. 

Denying UN visas? Why besides to hide ongoing atrocities? "Because we're in a snit" does not cut it. That's bullshit.

Beating the living shit out of civilians by unceasing bombing over weeks, destroying hospitals and closing any flow of medical supplies or fuel into Gaza to keep emergency generators working is not only to bomb the living shit out of civilians, but to add the insult of denying them actual hospital care; which is viewed here as a war crime. 

It is absolutely true the Hamas attack did not happen in a vacuum. Israel cannot say it was treating Palestinians fairly. The world knows that is not true. 

Settlements and apartheid are real and not illusory. Netanyahu and his ultra right-wing coalition cabinet has not been anything but ham-handed in what they dished out.

That an unacceptable mayhem and murder attack killing under two thousand in southern Israel towns and military areas is wrong is clear. Nobody denies that. Already over five thousand Gazans, many children, have lost their lives from what appears as indiscriminate bombing. Or perhaps targeted bombing against Hamas figures as Israeli intelligence best identifies their location, with no constraint against "unfortunate collateral damage" that being the killing of thousands of ordinary citizens with thousands more maimed.

The ground offensive is yet to begin, and already the unrelenting bombings have terrorized Gaza's civilians with well over twice the number of deaths and maimings as the Oct. 7 Hamas attack left injured and killed.

It is false outrage that these bomb-happy murderers are using to figleaf over their clearly DISPROPORTIONATE, intentional, planned, mayhem - damned be the consequences of plain-citizens people they affirmatively will not allow to evacuate.

When the US destroyed Fallujah civilians were allowed to evacuate before the destruction was started. Notice was given. Time was allowed. That is a difference.