New Delhi: The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority are locking horns about the role of the United Nations (UN) in the escalating conflict in Gaza, with one side denouncing the international organisation and the other supporting its efforts to facilitate cessation of hostilities.
A day after Israel’s top diplomat hit out at UN chief Antonio Guterres, the Palestinian Authority — which exercises partial civil control over the West Bank and is led by President Mahmoud Abbas (87) — issued a statement accusing Israel of attempting to undermine and “neutralise” the world body.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemns in the strongest terms the attack carried out by the Israeli Foreign Minister against the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Antonio Guterres, considering it unjustified and blatant,” read a statement from the Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry Wednesday.
“It is also seen as a new Israeli attempt to neutralise the role of the United Nations…particularly the neutralisation of the role of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in his capacity and his consistent positions with international law…,” it added.
The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks by Hamas.
Those horrendous attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 25, 2023
A high-level session of the UN Security Council was held Tuesday, during which Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen dismissed calls for “proportionality” in the country’s response to Hamas’s attack on 7 October while the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Maliki demanded an end to the fighting.
The UN Secretary-General, meanwhile, alleged violations of international law in Gaza and noted that the attacks by Hamas “did not happen in a vacuum”. This drew a sharp response from Israel’s foreign minister who asked Guterres: “Mr Secretary-General, in what world do you live?”
Shortly after, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan — who was detained briefly last month after protesting during Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s address at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) — called for Guterres’s resignation.
“The UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN. I call on him to resign immediately,” Erdan wrote on X. He added that there is no point in speaking to people who “show compassion for the most terrible atrocities”.
The @UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN.
I call on him to resign immediately.
There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most…
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) October 24, 2023
Over 5,000 Palestinians and about 1,400 Israelis have reportedly died since a fresh flare-up erupted between Israel and Hamas following the latter’s attacks in southern Israel on 7 October. Hamas has released four of the approximately 200 Israelis who were taken hostage during the attacks.
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Conflicting views on ceasefire at United Nations
The Israel-Hamas conflict continues to divide the UN, especially when it comes to calls for a ceasefire.
While the world body and voices from Europe including EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell have repeatedly called for a temporary halt to the fighting, Israel and the US have rejected such calls.
Israel argues that it has every right to defend itself while the US worries a ceasefire would benefit Hamas. A halt in fighting would give Hamas “the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Monday.
At the special meeting at the UNSC, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington’s draft resolution to the UN, proposed last Saturday, will build on many points proposed by Brazil’s resolution last week.
Notably, the US had vetoed that resolution. Twelve other council members voted in favour, including two permanent members (China and France) while the UK and Russia abstained.
In his remarks Tuesday, Blinken argued that acts of terrorism must be denounced whether they target people in Nairobi “or Mumbai”, citing ISIS, Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT) and Hamas as examples of terror groups.
The US’s proposed resolution makes four points: the right of countries to defend themselves against terrorism, protections of civilians, preventing the conflict from spreading and the need for an “enduring” political solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. A vote on the draft resolution is expected to be held this week.
First, to recognize the right of any nation to defend themselves against terrorism. Second, to protect civilians. Third, to prevent the conflict from spreading. Fourth, to build an enduring political solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) October 24, 2023
Blinken did not mention the word “ceasefire” in his remarks.
Reports also say that the Arab League objected to many points in the US’s draft resolution. Speaking to Ahram Online earlier this week, the Arab League’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Majed Abdul-Fattah, said member countries objected to “the lack of a clear call for an immediate ceasefire” and the classification of Hamas as a terror group.
The Arab League represents 22 member countries, including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, among others.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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