UN Secretary-General António Guterres (AP/Bebeto Matthews)
Israel’s ambassador to the UN responded critically to a call by the UN secretary general to end Israeli “occupation” in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Danny Danon had harsh words for UN Secretary General António Guterres, who called on Israel to end its “occupation” of Judea and Samaria.
In a statement released on the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War on Monday, Guterres asserted that the war, which erupted as a result of Arab belligerence, has resulted in generations of Palestinians living in refugee camps with little hope, and urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct talks on a two-state solution that would end what he termed Israel’s “occupation.”
Guterres lamented that Israel did not withdraw from Judea and Samaria, the eastern part of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, which, he claimed, “has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden” on the Palestinians.
He said the “occupation” fuels “recurring cycles of violence and retribution, sending “an unmistakable message” to Palestinians that statehood is just a dream, and to Israelis that “their desire for peace, security and regional recognition remains unattainable.”
According to Guterres, resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would “remove a driver of violent extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and open the doors to cooperation, security, prosperity and human rights for all.”
“Now is not the time to give up on this goal,” he said. “Now is the time to return to direct negotiations, to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law.”
Danon pointed to the historic fallacies in Guterres’ statement.
“The attacks on Israel by our neighbors did not begin in 1967, and any attempt at a moral equivalency between killing innocent people [by Palestinian terrorists] and the building of homes [by Israelis in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria] is absurd,” Danon charged.
“Instead of spreading Palestinian misinformation, it would be best if the UN stuck with the facts,” he demanded. “It is preposterous to blame terror and violence in the Middle East on the one true democracy in the region.”
To achieve piece, the solution is for “the Palestinian leadership to abandon terror, cease to incite against our people and finally return to direct negotiations,” Danon said. Only then “real progress can be made towards peace.”
By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News
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