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Israel tells UN Security Council it will never accept PA demand for Right of Return

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Palestinian Authority is attempting to “obliterate” Jewish self-determination with demand for Right of Return, Israeli ambassador to the UN tells Security Council.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel will never accept a Palestinian Right of Return, the Jewish state’s envoy to the United Nations told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, accusing the Council of perpetuating the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan took aim at the Palestinian Authority, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and the Security Council itself.

In his address to the Security Council gathering, which coincided with the Ninth of Av – a traditional Jewish fast day mourning the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple – Erdan defended Israel’s recent two-day ground campaign in the Palestinian Authority-administered city of Jenin, dubbed “Operation Home and Garden.”

“Over the past years, Jenin – and its ‘refugee camp’ in particular…has become a hotbed for terrorist activity. It is a place ruled by designated terror organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It is where so many of the recent deadly terror attacks – over 50 – were planned and carried out from, and it is a city of refuge for terrorists on the run.”

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“Israel does everything possible in order to avoid collateral damage and civilian casualties, Erdan continued, accusing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of smearing Israel’s military, calling Guterres’ comments a “disgrace” that “emboldened Palestinian violence against Jews.”

“Imagine my shock when, rather than commending Israel for uprooting terrorists with surgical precision, the Secretary-General condemned only Israel, making claims completely detached from reality. Rather than lambasting the terror organizations for exploiting innocent Palestinians and murdering Israelis, he panned Israel for defending itself.”

Erdan also blasted Guterres for seemingly conflating Palestinian terrorism with Israeli acts of self-defense.

“When I hear the words, ‘I condemn all acts of terror,’ as the Secretary-General recently stated, I cringe.”

Turning to the Palestinian Authority, Erdan declared that the PA’s demand for a Palestinian Right of Return to Israel is a non-starter for final status talks, calling the issue an attempt to “obliterate” the Jewish state.

“Let me be clear: There is no ‘Right of Return.’ You all know this. The demand of returning millions of descendants of refugees is a demand to obliterate the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, and this will never happen.”

“It is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is a day of solemn mourning. A day of fasting and prayer during which we commemorate the destruction of both our Temples.”

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“Today, Jews can only pray at the Temple’s only remaining structure – the Wailing Wall. But, thank God, Jewish sovereignty has once again returned to the Jewish homeland and above all, to Jerusalem, our eternal capital.”

Erdan went on to criticize the Security Council and the United Nations as a whole, accusing the international body of perpetuating the Arab-Israeli conflict and keeping in place “real obstacles that must be removed for reconciliation” between the two sides.