In the latest sign of rising tensions with the United Nations, Israel recalled its ambassador for consultations, claiming on Tuesday that the UN chief had failed to take action to address a new report that found evidence that sexual violence was committed during October under the leadership of Hamas. 7 attack on Israel.
The UN report released on Monday, which was widely welcomed in Israel, found “reasonable grounds” to believe that sexual violence had occurred in at least three locations and “clear and convincing information” that the hostages had been sexually assaulted. including rape. . He said the abuse of hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip may continue.
In a social media post, Israel Katz, Israel’s foreign minister, criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for not immediately convening the Security Council to discuss the report and declare Hamas a terrorist organization. However, the authority to convene the Security Council does not rest with Mr. Guterres but with the president and members of the Council, according to the UN charter.
Mr Katz said he recalled the UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, for consultation in protest at a concerted effort by Mr Guterres to “forget the report and avoid taking the necessary decisions”. Mr. Erdan was on the plane back to Israel on Tuesday, he said.
A UN spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, rejected the claim, saying that “In no way, shape or form did the secretary general do anything to ‘bury’ the report.”
Mr. Dujarric also expressed surprise at the timing of Mr. Katz’s comments.
“This announcement accusing the secretary general of trying to bury a report was made literally an hour, two hours before the press conference introducing the report,” he said.
Whatever the skirmish between Israeli and UN leaders, the report was welcomed by many in Israel.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, he said that the report was of “enormous importance” and praised it for its “moral clarity and integrity”.
The Hostage Family Forum said in a statement that the report made it “extremely clear that female hostages are going through hell every moment, every minute” and warned that the people of Israel will not forgive Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet. don’t bring them home.
Ruth Halperin Kaddari, a legal scholar and women’s rights activist, said Tuesday she was baffled by the decision to recall Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. The UN report, he said, “serves as confirmation at the highest level of the fact that sexual violence and gender-based atrocities were indeed apart from the October 7 Hamas attack.”
However, tensions have risen between Israel and the United Nations, which Israel is widely distrusted.
Mr Guterres has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and has pushed for an immediate and binding ceasefire, as well as the release of hostages taken in the October 7 attacks.
Israel has accused about 30 employees of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, of involvement in those attacks, and the agency’s head on Tuesday said Israel is trying to undermine its operations. And Mr. Erdan earlier called on Mr Guterres to resign over comments condemning the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.
The UN report was based on information gathered in Israel and the occupied West Bank by a panel of experts led by Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict.
The UN report describes significant challenges in determining what happened on the day of the attack. The report said it was nearly impossible to review the kind of forensic evidence often used to prove sexual assault and noted a deep reservoir of suspicion among Israelis toward international organizations such as the United Nations.
Noting that a number of fighters from Hamas and other groups were involved in the attack, the report said its experts could not determine who was responsible for the sexual attacks.
In the past, Israeli activists have expressed frustration at what they saw as the United Nations’ slow response to reports of sexual assault during the October 7 attack. On Tuesday, President Herzog’s wife, Michal, told Israel Radio that the report was “the first time in five months that a senior UN official supports what we have been claiming for the past few months.”
In a Telegram post, Hamas dismissed the report, calling the findings false.
