Palestinian rocket
Photo: AP
Israel tells UN Hamas to blame for Gaza situation
Israeli ambassador to Geneva slams United Nation's forgiving attitude to Palestinian violence, blasts 'short-sighted' statement by top human rights official who earlier called on Israel to end Gaza blockade
The latest statement by the United Nation's top human rights official regarding the situation in Gaza is "short sighted," Israel's new ambassador in Geneva wrote Tuesday, slamming the UN's forgiving attitude to Palestinian violence.
Palestinian residents of Gaza "have been forcibly deprived of their most basic human rights for months" Pillay said, referring to Israel's blockade of the Strip.
The dismissive manner in which the UN addresses Palestinian belligerence is particularly distributing, Roni Leshno Yaar wrote in a letter, drafted in response to an earlier statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
Gaza Strip
Hanan Greenberg and AP
'Palestinians forcibly deprived of their most basic human rights for months,' UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says
However, Yaar scathingly attacked PIllay's assertion that Israel was the cause for Gazans' hardships. He wrote that Israel cannot allow itself to show the same forgiving UN attitude to ongoing rocket and mortar attacks on its citizens. "These attacks violate the most basic right; the right to life," Yaar said.
'Hamas manipulation victim'
Israel's envoy said Hamas was to blame for the situation in the Gaza Strip, slamming the group for investing all its resources in arms and terror, instead of providing for the needs of local residents subjected to its "brutal" regime.Yaar noted that Hamas and affiliated Palestinian terror groups fired more than 170 rockets and mortar shells at Israel in the past 10 days, including 25 over the weekend. Israel is committed to maintaining the Gaza lull, he said, but expects Hamas to adhere to its obligations as well, including an end to terror attacks and its military buildup.
The envoy added that it was "disappointing" to realize that Pillay was yet another victim of Hamas' "cynical manipulation" of the media.
