German ambassador to UN suggests comparison between Israel, North Korea

Germany’s ambassador to the U.N. appeared to compare Israel to North Korea at a Security Council meeting.

By World Israel News Staff

The German Ambassador to the U.N. Christoph Heusgen sharply criticized the Trump administration’s support for Israel, comparing Israel indirectly to North Korea, Israel Hayom reports on Wednesday.

In a speech at the U.N. Security Council, in which Germany serves as a temporary member, Heusgen condemned what he considered America’s inconsistent approach to international law:

“For us, international law is valid, we believe in the U.N., we believe in the Security Council,” he said. “We believe in the power of international law, not in the power of the stronger.”

“For us it is not a menu to choose as you wish. There are cases in which the United States insists on the implementation of international law, as on North Korea, and we support it.”

Heusgen added, “Security Council Resolution 2334 of December 2016, which defines Israeli settlements beyond the Green Line – also in East Jerusalem – as illegal settlements, is a binding international resolution that the United States has abandoned.”

Resolution 2334 was passed at the end of the Obama administration, which abstained in the Security Council instead of vetoing the resolution as it had done in the case of a similar U.N. Security Council resolution in February 2011.

The resolution is based on the Fourth Geneva Convention and an interpretation of Israel as an “occupying power.” Israel has rejected that interpretation and insists that settlements are legal as it’s not an occupying power given “there were no established sovereigns in the West Bank or Gaza Strip prior to the Six Day War,” according to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It’s not the first time that the German ambassador made a questionable comparison. In March, he compared Hamas rocket fire on Israeli civilians to Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes built without permits. Germany’s Bild newspaper criticized Heusgen at the time for his remarks.

That month, Heusgen criticized the Trump administration’s recognition of Israel sovereignty on the Golan Heights, captured in the Six Day War.

“Security needs, justified as they may be, do not justify annexation,” Huisgan said  at the time.