In a press encounter today (22 Aug) ahead of a Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza, the Israeli ambassador asked, “How morally bankrupt can this organization be to ignore Israeli victims just 10 months after one of the largest and most horrific terror attacks in history to pretend they never existed. It has been 320 days since the slaughter, and what have we heard from the UN so far? Silence, silence. No condemnation of Hamas, no recognition of the atrocities committed.”
Israeli ambassador Danny Danon told reporters, “Yesterday, the UN marked International Day of Remembrance for victims of terror. However, if you walked around the UN's exhibit, you would not have found a single tribute to an Israeli victim. Apparently, someone forgot what happened on October 7.”
He added, “I'm familiar with the house and the corridor of this building. It's my second term. I served in for five long years, and I think the UN must change. You know, I believe in working with the UN. I was elected to be vice president of the General Assembly. I chaired the sixth committee for a year. But I cannot accept the fact that after the atrocities of October 7, we have not heard a condemnation from the Security Council, from the General Assembly. This institution was built after the Holocaust in order to prevent what we saw on October 7 and after what happened in Israel to this reason to be silent. It's unacceptable.”
Asked about a ceasefire and allowing polio vaccines into Gaza, he said, “we had a ceasefire until October 7. Hamas broke that ceasefire and raided our communities. We can have a ceasefire immediately, once the hostages are coming back. Now, regarding to the polio vaccines, let's speak about the facts. 95 to 98 percent of the population in Gaza are vaccinated already. We are working with WHO and UNICEF, by the way, not with UNRWA in Gaza, but with WHO and UNICEF in order to start another campaign of vaccinations. And we will cooperate with everybody in order to ease the situation for the Palestinian people who are suffering from the Hamas occupation. The future for Gaza will begin when Hamas will be eradicated. It's on the way. It's happening. Once Hamas will be eradicated, we can start speak about reconstruction and building a future for the people of Gaza.”