Israel’s UN envoy calls world court probe ‘multilateral terror’ at Security Council

Israel’s envoy to the UN Gilad Erdan calls the Palestinian-led push for a world court investigation into Israel a “jihad war of multilateral terror.”

The General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the investigation by the International Court of Justice last month. Israel enacted a series of retaliatory measures against the Palestinians in response. The Palestinian UN mission then issued a letter signed by over 90 countries condemning Israel’s punitive steps.

“Terror comes in many forms. At its core, terrorism is a means by which to scare people into capitulating to demands,” Erdan says. “One of the weapons they use in this jihad war is the manipulation and abuse of international bodies. They weaponize these bodies in order to force Israel into surrendering to 100% of their demands.”

He says the Palestinians exploit an automatic anti-Israel majority at the UN to push unilateral measures while avoiding negotiations.

The world court probe “was a clear unilateral step initiated by the Palestinians with the sole purpose of destroying Israel as a Jewish state,” he says. “Israel’s guilt has been predetermined.”

The Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour says Israel’s retaliatory measures “strike at the heart of multilateralism and the heart of the international law-based order.”

“Israel still believes there is a path to peace by crushing the Palestinians. If there was one to be found they would have found it by now,” Mansour says. “Peace will not come by negation of our existence, it will come from the recognition of our plight.”

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield says calls for both sides to de-escalate amid regular clashes in the West Bank and for preserving the status quo at the Temple Mount.