Israeli officials attacked the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday after the latter invocated a rare clause in the UN charter to press for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen accused Guterres of supporting the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas in a short statement on X.
“Guterres’ tenure is a danger to world peace,” Cohen said, adding that “his request to activate Article 99 and the call for a ceasefire in Gaza constitutes support of the Hamas terrorist organization”.
For his part, Israel’s envoy to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, called on Guterres to resign and described the letter as “more proof” of Guterres’ “moral distortion and his bias against Israel”.
UN Secretary-General Invokes Article 99 – Why and What It Means
UN Secretary-General António Guterres invoked, on Wednesday, Article 99 of the founding UN Charter.
Article 99 allows the Secretary-General to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”
The article has not been used for decades, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
Guterres reiterated in the letter his appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
“I am writing under Article 99 of the United Nations Charter to bring to the attention of the Security Council a matter which, in my opinion, may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security,” read the letter.
Israeli airstrikes continue to target residential homes, public and private property across various areas of the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, killing dozens of Palestinian civilians.https://t.co/WvH90JSf0Z pic.twitter.com/pf1lcgdEmd
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 7, 2023
“This is urgent. The civilian population must be spared from greater harm. With a humanitarian ceasefire, the means of survival can be restored, and humanitarian assistance can be delivered in a safe and timely manner across the Gaza Strip,” it said.
Since October 7, 16,250 Palestinians have been killed and more than 43,616 wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
I applaud Guterres for having the courage to stand up to the injustice and atrocities being perpetrated by Israel and supported by the United States. God bless him.
His appointment doesn’t end for over two more years so we can anticipate the Israelis pressing the next US president to find a way to get rid of him before then. He’s become a dangerous man in Israel’s eyes.