The Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, has confessed “shocked” by “misrepresentation” of the speech delivered on Tuesday before the Security Council and, after the wave of criticism by Israeli authorities, which has included a request for his resignation, he stressed that at no time did he “justify” the “acts of terrorism” perpetrated by Hamas on October 7.
“It’s false. I did the opposite“, he said this Wednesday during a brief statement without questions before the media, in which he cited some excerpts from his speech to remember that he condemned the actions of Hamas without palliatives, even emphasizing that no historical “grievance” could serve as an excuse. for the massacres committed.
“I think it is necessary to make things clear, especially out of respect for the victims and their families,” Guterres emphasized, without ever alluding to Israel or the measures it has adopted in retaliation for his words, which include a refusal to granting visas to envoys of the international organization.
On Tuesday, Guterres opened the Security Council session dedicated to the escalation of tensions in the Middle East with a speech in which he denounced the “clear” violations of International Law and criticized both parties. He top official of the UN He directly condemned the Hamas attacks, but also recalled the historical roots of the conflict.
Thus, he pointed out, for example, that the “horrible“attacks started more than two weeks ago”They didn’t come out of nowhere“, since “the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation”, in a context in which “their hopes of achieving a political solution are fading.”
Israel maintains its criticism
Israel has responded to Guterres’ allegation through its ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, to call it a “disgrace” that the secretary general of the organization has not apologized and continues without resigning, to the extent that he cannot continue in office. position if “he does not understand that the murder of innocents nor has justification neither background“reports the ‘Times of Israel’ newspaper.
Guterres, according to Erdan, “distorts reality again“Yesterday he clearly said that the Hamas massacre ‘did not come out of nowhere.’ “Everyone can understand very well the meaning of these words, that Israel is guilty of the actions of Hamas or, at the very least, that they represent an understanding or a justification on the part of the secretary general of the massacre,” he added.