UN chief suggests Jews had it coming; furious Israel fires back

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen blasted UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday for remarks in which he appeared to justify Hamas’s Oct. 7 murder rampage in the western Negev.

“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” Guterres had told the UN Security Council on Tuesday, claiming that “the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.

“They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced; and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing,” added the Portuguese diplomat.

“Mr. Secretary-General, in what world do you live?” Cohen rebutted as he addressed the Security Council. “Definitely, this is not our world.” Cohen canceled a private meeting with Guterres, he subsequently announced on X. “I will not meet the UN secretary-general. After Oct. 7, there is no place for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased from the world,” wrote the top diplomat.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan also denounced the secretary-general’s speech, noting in a post on X that Guterres spoke as Hamas bombarded central Israel with rockets.

“The secretary-general is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and … views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner,” said Erdan.

“His statement … expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder. It’s really unfathomable. It’s truly sad that the head of an organization that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views,” the ambassador said.

Israeli Minister-without-Portfolio Benny Gantz said, “Terror apologists cannot speak on behalf of the world.”

“Days when the UN secretary-general supports terrorism are dark days for the world. Absolutely nothing can justify the slaughter of innocent civilians. Now is the time to stand on the right side of history, or be judged by it,” Gantz wrote on X.