United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has accused Israel of spreading misinformation about his stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
As reported by Reuters, during a news conference on information integrity, Guterres stated that he has condemned Hamas 102 times, including 51 times in formal speeches.
Israel's UN Ambassador, Gilad Erdan, responded by calling Guterres' condemnations "empty words". He accused him of aiming to help Hamas survive the war, adding, "We find it despicable that the secretary-general refuses to abide by the U.N.'s standards and paints a distorted picture of events on the ground ... Antonio Guterres is an accomplice to terror and should resign today."
It's not the first time Guterres has denied being anti-Israel, although both he and the U.N. have been increasingly vocal about their harsh criticism of Israel since October 7th. In fact, not even 3 weeks after Hamas' brutal assault and massacre of at least 1200 Israeli civilians, Guterres said, "It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation." He also said that "the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."
When he faced condemnation for these inflammatory comments, he responded, saying "I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statement ... as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false. It was the opposite." He also said that he "condemned unequivocally" the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 people, stating: "Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets."
Guterres also denied allegations that he attempted to suppress a UN report on sexual violence against Israelis during the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, as reported by France 24.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, weighed in on the broader issue in an op-ed for the Jerusalem Post. Haley argued that antisemitism remains pervasive within the UN, describing it as "the worst-kept secret" of the organization. As reported by i24 News, Haley criticized various UN bodies, including the Human Rights Council, UNESCO, and UNRWA, for alleged anti-Israel bias and tolerance of antisemitism. She linked this ideology to the difficulty international institutions face in unequivocally condemning jihadist violence.
Relations between the U.N. and Israel have long been fraught and have worsened considerably during the Israel-Hamas war. Although Israel has repeatedly accused U.N. staff of working with Hamas and other militants, the UN claims that in many cases it is yet to receive evidence from Israel.
