Israeli envoy: Calls for probe into Gaza clashes embolden Hamas

The Israeli representative at the UN Human Rights Council says the organization’s call for an inquiry into Israel’s handling of clashes on the Gaza border emboldens Hamas.

“What this Special Session has already succeeded in doing is to empower Hamas and reward its terror strategy and its use of civilians as human shields to advance its terror activities against the citizens of Israel,” says Aviva Raz Shechter, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva.

She says calls for Israeli restraint will provoke further Hamas to engage in further violence, in turn endangering Palestinians.

“It is Israel, certainly not Hamas, which makes a real effort to minimize casualties among Palestinian civilians… the IDF took all available precautionary measures and has warned residents of the danger they would face should they engage in violent riots,” Raz Shechter says.

“But Hamas urged them to be on the front line as human shields, hiding terrorists and endangering their lives,” she adds.