Israeli FM annuls UN chief meeting over Palestinian suffering comment
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Cohen said there is no place for a "balanced approach" in the region since the launch of operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
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- Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is pictured in Ankara, Turkey, February 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)
Just as the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres concluded a statement before the UN Security Council, during which he said that the operations carried out by the Palestinian Resistance did not take place "in a vacuum," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced that he annulled his meeting with Guterres.
According to a post FM Cohen wrote on the social media platform X, the meeting had been annulled, as he argues there is no place for a "balanced approach" in the region since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was launched.
I will not meet with the UN Secretary-General. After the October 7th massacre, there is no place for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased off the face of the planet!
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) October 24, 2023
Earlier today, Guterres conveyed to the 15-member Security Council that he was "deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza" and that "at a crucial moment like this, it is vital to be clear on principles - starting with the fundamental principle of respecting and protecting civilians."
"It is important to also recognize the attack by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation," the UN chief added.
However, Guterres said that Palestinian grievances cannot justify resistance operations by Hamas and that these operations cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Read more: We don't want war with Lebanon: Israeli President
UN agencies say they pleaded "on our knees" for unhindered access to Gaza, claiming that current supplies were insufficient to maintain the Palestinian people following two weeks of Israeli air attacks.
Since "Israel" imposed a full siege on the strip, relentlessly bombarding it, U.N. organizations have made more urgent calls for help.
After strenuous diplomatic efforts, trucks of assistance began arriving in Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, but humanitarian groups warn they are far from sufficient. Half of the strip's 2.3 million residents are homeless, many have been injured, and food and clean water are scarce.
Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stated the aid was " a mere drop in the ocean of what is needed."
