Israel had vowed to ‘teach UN a lesson’ and called on António Guterres to resign after his speech

Léonie Chao-Fong (now); Martin Belam and Helen Livingstone (earlier)Wed 25 Oct 2023 17.24 CEST

Guterres ‘shocked’ by ‘misrepresentations by some of my statement’ on Gaza

The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has said he has been shocked by misinterpretations of his statement to the UN security council. Israel has called for his resignation over the speech.

“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,” Reuters reports. “I believe it’s necessary to set the record straight – especially out of respect for the victims and their families.”

On Tuesday in New York, having said no injustice to the Palestinians could justify the appalling attacks by Hamas, the UN chief continued: “It is important to … recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”

The UN secretary general had created fury in Israel and among some Republicans in the US by describing Israel’s bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip as the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people” and “clear violations of international humanitarian law”.

Harriet Sherwood

misrepresentations by some of my statement … as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false. It was the opposite,” Reuters reports. “I believe it’s necessary to set the record straight – especially out of respect for the victims and their families.”

On Tuesday in New York, having said no injustice to the Palestinians could justify the appalling attacks by Hamas, the UN chief continued: “It is important to … recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”

The UN secretary general had created fury in Israel and among some Republicans in the US by describing Israel’s bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip as the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people” and “clear violations of international humanitarian law”.

Sam Jones

The acting prime minister of Spain – which now holds the EU presidency – has also offered his support to António Guterres.

“I add my voice to all those – particularly the secretary general of the UN – calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza so that the necessary aid can reach the Palestinian population,” Pedro Sánchez wrote on social media.

“All my support to António Guterres. We have to find a diplomatic way out of this conflict.”

In comments to reporters, Sánchez added: “I’d like to offer the Spanish government’s full support – and doubtless the support of the majority of Spaniards – to our UN secretary general, Portugal’s António Guterres.

“I think what he’s doing is speaking out on behalf of the great majority of societies around the world who want a humanitarian pause and humanitarian aid, who want this humanitarian disaster to end, and who want this indiscriminate death to end.

“They want a diplomatic route that will lead to a solution to this grave crisis, whose clear origin was Hamas’s attack on Israeli soil, which deserves the full condemnation of Spanish society, the Spanish government and of the international community.”

Israel has called for the resignation of Guterres over comments he made yesterday at the UN.

source and more https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/oct/25/israel-hamas-war-live-news-gaza-child-deaths-unicef-jenin-west-bank-strike