AFPEA woman in Paris protests against the UN for not speaking out against the rapes
NOS News•today, 2:18 PM•Adjusted today, 3:51 PM
The day after the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, the first reports of gruesome rapes by fighters of the terrorist group appeared. Now, two months later, more and more is becoming clear. In recent days, several international media have recorded extensive testimonies that provide a picture of the sexual violence.
The UN announced an investigation last week and published it yesterday the BBC in AP news agency long articles in which victims and witnesses have their say. The stories are intense. A woman raped and then killed by several Hamas members, a 14-year-old girl found with traces of sexual violence on her lifeless body. What else is known so far and how is it viewed in Israel?
‘Planned and instructed’
To start with the last question. Israel accuses the United Nations and others of reacting too slowly to reports that Hamas used widespread sexual violence against women during the terror attack in early October. Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, said on Monday that Hamas deliberately used rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war in its attack on Israel.
“This was premeditated. This was planned. This was instructed,” Erdan said. “Unfortunately, the very international bodies that are supposedly the defenders of all women have shown that when it comes to Israelis, indifference is acceptable.”
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is also furious about the lack of international response. During a press conference in Hebrew, he switched to English in the middle of his story: “I say to the women’s rights organizations and the human rights organizations: you have heard about the rape of Israeli women, the terrible atrocities, the sexual mutilation. Where the hell are you ?”
On November 30, UN chief António Guterres, who has often been harshly criticized by Israel, spoke out about the rapes. “There are countless stories of sexual violence during Hamas’s abhorrent acts of terror on October 7, which must be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.” A commission was established to investigate war crimes on both sides and focus on sexual violence.
Correspondent Nasrah Habiballah:
“Stories of rape by Hamas have been circulating since the beginning, but now more research has been done and witnesses have also been interviewed. Yesterday the story received even more international attention after Israel spoke about it during a special UN meeting. The BBC also received access to parts of the Israeli investigation, such as witness statements.
In Israel this is not big news. Here these stories were going around from the beginning and everyone immediately believed them. The surprise here is more that the rest of the world was not more outraged about this.
The news about this now is therefore mainly focused on the Israeli UN ambassador’s criticism of the silence on this matter from the international community. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s lashing out at the international community last night is also receiving attention. He also thought that he should have spoken out more.”
2023-12-06 13:18:12
#international #attention #paid #sexual #violence #enrages #Hamas #Israel
