UN Secretary-General "Never Justified Hamas Terror... It's Distorted"

Israel Responds to Resignation Demands

Ant?nio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, has actively clarified his recent remarks related to the Palestinian armed group Hamas amid growing controversy and calls for his resignation in Israel. He strongly asserted that his comments did not in any way justify Hamas's terrorism and that his words had been distorted.

[Image source= Xinhua News Agency]

According to CNN on the 25th (local time), Secretary-General Guterres said in an interview at the UN headquarters in New York, "I was shocked that some of my remarks at the Security Council yesterday were misinterpreted as justifying Hamas's terrorism," emphasizing, "This is not true and is quite the opposite."

He continued, "Deliberately killing civilians, causing injuries, kidnapping, or firing rockets at civilian targets cannot be justified," adding, "I spoke about the grievances of the Palestinian people, but the grievances of Palestinians do not justify Hamas's horrific attacks. Out of respect for the victims and their families, I want to set the record straight."

Earlier, at the UN Security Council meeting held the previous day with the Palestinian issue on the agenda, Guterres stated, "Hamas's attack on the 7th did not occur in a vacuum," and "It is important to recognize that the Palestinian people have been under suffocating occupation for 56 years." He further stressed, "While the grievances of Palestinians do not justify Hamas's horrific attacks, those attacks do not justify collective punishment of the Palestinian people."

Israel strongly opposed these remarks, accusing them of justifying Hamas's terrorism. Eli Cohen, Israel's Foreign Minister, who attended the Security Council meeting, harshly criticized, "What kind of world does the Secretary-General live in? Certainly not ours."

Minister Cohen also canceled a meeting with Secretary-General Guterres and posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "I will not meet with the UN Secretary-General. A balanced approach is impossible after the massacre on October 7," adding, "Hamas must disappear from the face of the earth."

The Israeli government has escalated tensions with the UN by refusing visas to UN representatives and demanding Guterres's resignation. Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the UN, strongly criticized on his X account, "There is no legitimacy or meaning in engaging with those who sympathize with the most horrific atrocities committed against Israeli citizens and the Jewish people," and demanded, "I call on Secretary-General Guterres to resign immediately. He is unfit to lead the UN."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.