No ‘Both Sides to Blame’ Excuse for Hamas Escalation, Israeli Envoy Tells UN as Gaza Ceasefire Takes Hold
by Algemeiner Staff
Israel’s envoy to the United Nations has urged the UN Security Council to avoid the trap of “blaming both sides” for the escalation on Jewish state’s border with the Gaza Strip that resulted in a ceasefire on Tuesday evening.
Ahead of a Security Council debate on the latest violence, triggered by the volley of Hamas rockets fired into southern Israel in recent days, Ambassador Danny Danon declared: “Every time Hamas shoots a rocket — children at school, adults at work, families all over the country hear this.”
Danon then played the sound of the “red alert” air raid siren from his phone. “Think of the children running fearfully into bomb shelters,” he said.
“Certain morally bankrupt members of the Security Council will jump to blame Israel, and others who pretend to be objective will call for restraint on both sides,” Danon added. “But let me be clear: there is no ‘both sides.’ There is Hamas that attacks and fires over 460 missiles at civilians, and there is Israel that protects its people.”
“The Security Council must condemn Hamas for its aggressive assault and finally designate it as a terrorist organization,” the ambassador concluded.