Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan. Photo: Gali Tibbon / Pool via Reuters.

Israeli Ambassador to United Nations Gilad Erdan warned against “adopting the narratives of the extremists in the Middle East” during a UN Security Council session on Wednesday, saying that doing so would “keep the region stuck in the past.”

Erdan, who also serves as ambassador to the US, contrasted recent milestones in Israel’s warming ties with the United Arab Emirates and Morocco with parties trying to “keep the Middle East stuck in a dark age of conflict.”

“Israel and more and more moderate Arab states are working to move beyond the past of hate, instability and fundamentalism, towards a future of dialogue, tolerance and peace,” he told the debate. “Unfortunately, terrorist groups like Hamas, and radical regimes like Iran, oppose this vision of a brighter future.”

He also highlighted recent steps taken by Iran to increase the production of enriched uranium, and its foiled plot to kidnap Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad.

“When this Council fails to take strong action against the world’s worst human rights violators like Iran and Syria, and instead, singles out the world’s only Jewish state, it is no wonder that companies like Ben and Jerry’s and Unilever allow themselves to single out Israel for boycott,” Erdan remarked.

He also lambasted the Council’s focus on the issue of Jerusalem, calling it “dangerous.”

“It could be understood as an acceptance of Hamas’ narrative, that Israeli actions in Jerusalem justified its latest terror attacks on Israel,” Erdan said. “Today’s discussion might serve to increase Hamas’ influence in Jerusalem and the Palestinian arena.”

“While Israel will always remain committed to coexistence and religious freedom for all peoples and faiths in the holy city, and while we continue to maintain the status quo, despite false claims to the contrary, we will never accept the delegitimization of our legal, historical and national rights in Jerusalem, by the Security Council or any other international body,” he continued.

Wednesday’s session on the Middle East was also addressed by Lynn Hastings, the UN’s deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, who urged efforts to improve conditions in Gaza and said that the Palestinian Authority’s fiscal situation was “a source of significant concern.”

“I underscore that all perpetrators of violence must be held accountable and swiftly brought to justice,” she said, citing a series of recent violent incidents in the West Bank. “I also call on Israeli security forces to ensure the protection of Palestinians, in line with Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.”