UN chief doubles down on Israel comments in NY Times
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Israeli criticism of attacks on its settlement policy unsustainable in an opinion piece published Sunday by The New York Times, doubling down on comments earlier in the week that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said encouraged terrorism.
In the piece entitled, "Don't Shoot the Messenger, Israel," Ban reiterates many of his earlier comments to Security Council Tuesday, calling Israeli settlement activity "an affront to the Palestinian people," adding that "it is human nature to resist occupation." He also called for a freeze on settlement activity, which most of the international community views Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal or illegitimate.
"Criticism of the United Nations -- or attacks against me -- comes with the territory. But when heartfelt concerns about shortsighted or morally damaging policies emanate from so many sources, including Israel's closest friends, it cannot be sustainable to keep lashing out at every well-intentioned critic," Ban wrote.
