From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Katz tells diplomats to push messaging targeting UN over handling of October 7 rape report
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
In the wake of a UN report accusing Hamas of severe sexual violence on October 7 and afterward, Foreign Minister Israel Katz instructs Israel’s diplomats to launch a public relations offensive aimed at pressuring the UN to declare Hamas a terrorist organization and to immediately convene the Security Council to debate the findings.
In a letter, Katz instructs the envoys to push messaging around the report in interviews, on social media and in meetings with decision-makers. He demands that each mission report their activities to advance these messages by March 14.
Katz says the diplomats should push the idea that “the weak response by the UN indicates to Hamas that these acts are acceptable and will not bring sanctions on the terror organization.”
