From the Liveblog of
Thursday, May 20, 2021
At UN, Erdan likens Hamas charter to Nazis, lashes international ‘hypocrisy’
Addressing the UN General Assembly, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan likens the Hamas charter, which calls for Israel’s destruction, to the genocidal aims of Nazi Germany.
“Sadly, in today’s debate, we are not seeing a defense of the goals laid out for the UN, but rather an indifference to Hamas’s charter, which, like the Nazis, is committed to the genocide of the Jewish people,” he says.
“We see an attempt to create a false moral equivalence, an immoral equivalence, between Israel, a democracy that seeks peace and abides by international law, and a murderous terrorist organization with an ideology similar to ISIS, that is carrying out the double war crime of firing at Israeli civilians while hiding its weapons behind Palestinian civilians, using them as human shields,” adds Erdan.
He adds: “Every speaker here today, that fails to unequivocally condemn Hamas, that fails to distinguish between Hamas’s war crimes and Israel’s self-defense, that chooses to demonize Israel, rather than supporting its heroic efforts to dismantle Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure, is strengthening extremist forces, encouraging terrorist groups to use civilians as human shields, and undermining the chances for peace.”
Erdan says the IDF goes “above and beyond” the demands of international law.
“While Hamas rockets are indiscriminate, Israel’s strikes are precise, surgical. We go above and beyond the demands of international law,” he says.
He accuses the UN of “hypocrisy” and says: “We will never apologize for defending our citizens, even if some of the countries here might be happy to see a greater number of dead Jews.”
The Times of Israel Community.