Israel lodges complaint against UN over Passover session

Danny Danon lodged an official complaint with the UNSC for holding of an emergency session on Gaza during the first night of the Passover holiday.

By: World Israel News Staff

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Danny Danon lodged an official complaint with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over the weekend for holding of an emergency session on the situation in Gaza during the first night of the Passover holiday, disregarding the importance of the Jewish holiday and the restrictions on work during this time.

“The State of Kuwait, with full knowledge that our Permanent Mission, Israel, and Jews everywhere were observing the first night of Passover, hijacked the consultations, forced an open session and invited the Palestinian delegation to present remarks that they had been advised to prepare well in advance. Israel was not given the same advance notice and was barred from taking part in the deliberations due to the observance of our religious holiday,” Danon wrote the UNSC.

“Once again, Hamas has exploited women and children as human shields, including by dressing young children in military uniforms and arming them with guns and ammunition. Despite the Palestinian leadership’s insistence on the peaceful nature of these demonstrations, Hamas and its affiliated factions have interspersed armed terrorists amongst civilians, a number of whom were killed as a result of their direct attacks on Israeli positions,” the Ambassador continued.

“I would like to remind the Council that exploiting procedural rules so that one side can make its case while the other cannot is antithetical to the spirit of the United Nations and is a direct affront to the fundamental principles of honest deliberation,” Danon concluded.

Despite fierce opposition by Israel and the US, and requests to postpone the meeting until after the Passover holiday, the UNSC convened during the Passover Seder to discuss the situation in Gaza.

The Palestinian representative addressed the Council during the meeting, while Israeli representatives refused to attend due to the sacred holiday.

“While Jews around the world gathered with their family at the Seder table to celebrate the Passover holiday, the Palestinians sunk to a new deceitful low so that they could use the UN to spread lies about Israel,” said Danon earlier on Saturday. “This shameful exploitation of our holiday will not succeed in stopping us from speaking the truth about the Hamas terror-gatherings that aim to destabilize the region,” he added.

US blocks anti-Israel statement

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Friday for an “independent investigation” into deadly clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops at the Israel-Gaza border, while Security Council members urged restraint “on both sides.”

The Council did not decide on any action or joint message after an emergency meeting Friday evening.

The UNSC failed to address the fact that the majority of the Palestinians killed during the clashes were Hamas terrorists operating under the cover of civilian events.

The US on Saturday blocked a draft UNSC statement, AFP reported.

Kuwait, which represents Arab countries on the council, presented the proposed statement, which called for an “independent and transparent investigation” of the incidents. The draft council statement also expressed “grave concern at the situation at the border,” AFP reported. It reaffirmed “the right to peaceful protest” and expressed the council’s “sorrow at the loss of innocent Palestinian lives.”

The draft statement was circulated to the council on Friday, but on Saturday US raised objections and said it did not support its adoption, a Security Council diplomat told AFP.