New York, 25 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Top Israeli officials assailed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday for saying the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas "did not occur in vacuum" and called on him to resign.

 

Guterres' statement at the UN Security Council that the acts of Hamas should be seen in the context of decades of oppression of the Palestinians by the Israelis was a "pure blood libel," said Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the UN.

 

He said the UN chief did not care about the suffering of Israeli civilians and was trying to justify terrorism.

 

"I think that the secretary general must resign," Erdan said in New York.

 

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who attended the council debate, later cancelled a planned meeting with Guterres.

 

"I will not meet with the UN secretary general. After October 7th there is no room for a balanced approach. Hamas must be wiped off the face of the Earth," wrote Cohen on social media.

 

Guterres had criticized Israel's relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip and spoke of "clear violations of international humanitarian law" and "collective punishment."

 

He condemned the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, which left more than 1,400 people dead and some 220 others held hostage, but said the crimes had not taken place "in a vacuum."

 

"The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation," Guterres said.

 

"They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.

 

The UN chief continued: "But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."

 

Speaking at the Security Council, Israel's foreign minister forcefully rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where the Hamas-run Health Ministry said the death toll reached 5,791 on Tuesday.

 

Cohen asked the council what the "proportionate response" should be for the killing of babies, the rape of women and the beheading of victims.

 

Cohen held up photos of some of the people being held hostage in Gaza.

 

"How can you agree to a ceasefire with someone who swore to kill and destroy your own existence?" he shouted, calling Hamas the "new Nazis."

 

According to diplomatic sources, some Arab delegations left the room during Cohen's speech, including those from Algeria and Libya. Representatives from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, however, remained in their seats.

 

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki accused the Security Council of inaction in the face of escalating violence.

 

"Is it not the duty of the Security Council to maintain international peace and security and uphold the principles and objectives of the UN Charter guaranteed to our peoples?" al-Maliki asked.

 

Al-Maliki slammed the council, saying it had double standards when it comes to Israelis and Palestinians.

 

UN Children's Fund UNICEF said that 2,360 of those killed in Gaza were children, citing reports without naming sources. The aid group said 5,364 children have been injured. UNICEF spoke of "relentless attacks."

 

Last week, a Brazilian draft resolution focusing on humanitarian aid, which was supported by a slew of countries, failed because of a US veto. Washington has long been accused of shielding its ally Israel from unwelcome resolutions.

 

The top US diplomat backed Israel in its war against Hamas, but said "all possible precautions" must be taken to protect civilians.

 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that citizens of more than 30 UN member states had died in the October 7 attacks.

 

"Every one of us has a stake, every one of us a responsibility in defeating terrorism," he said at the Security Council.

 

He said that Israel has the "right and the obligation" to defend itself, but that "the way it does so mattters."

 

"Palestinian civilians must be protected. That means Hamas must cease using them as human shields ... and it means Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians."

 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also emphasized Israel's right to self-defence - but urged the country to wage its fight "within the framework of international law."

 

"I speak to you as the foreign minister of a country that bears historic responsibility for the worst imaginable crime, the crime committed by Nazi Germany: the Shoah – the systematic murder of 6 million jews, with the aim of eradicating Jewish life from Europe.

 

"'Never again' — to me as a German, that means that we will not rest knowing that the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors are now being held hostage by terrorists in Gaza. For Germany, Israel’s security is non-negotiable," Baerbock said.

 

Photo: EPA