Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, accused Hamas of committing war crimes and vowed that the time had come to “wipe out” the movement’s military infrastructure, while the international organization’s Security Council held a meeting to discuss the conflict.
“These are war crimes, blatant and documented war crimes,” Erdan told reporters ahead of a closed meeting of the UN Security Council, whose membership includes 15 countries.
He said, “The era of (using) reason and logic (in dealing) with these savages has ended,” adding, “Now is the time to erase the terrorist structure of Hamas, completely erase it, so that such horrors are never committed again.”
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour told reporters before the Security Council meeting, “Israel continues to say that the siege and repeated attacks on Gaza aim to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and ensure security… Its siege and attacks have achieved neither of them.”
He added, “When Israel now tries to justify another attack with the same false premise, no one should say or do anything to encourage it to go down this path.”
The Council met for approximately 90 minutes and heard a briefing from UN Middle East Peace Envoy Tor Wensland.
Diplomats said that the Security Council was unlikely to issue a statement, and Robert Wood, the US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters that the matter was not a priority for Washington at the present time. Council decisions are issued by consensus.
Wood told reporters after the council meeting, “What is important now is for the international community to show its solidarity with Israel. We fully support Israel.”
He added, “The condemnation of Hamas must continue until it puts an end to this violent terrorist activity against the Israeli people.”
The UAE Ambassador to the United Nations, Lana Nusseibeh, said that the Council also discussed the extent of application of international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians.
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2023-10-09 00:05:39
