Activist Maoz Inon criticizes Israeli policy at UN Security Council — Jerusalem Post
Israeli activist Maoz Inon, whose parents Bilha and Yaakov Inon were killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, criticized the Israeli government's policy at a UN Security Council meeting. He said that the grief of victims' families should not be a justification for war and called for advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The activist's speech
According to Inon, his parents were among the first victims of the Hamas attack in Netiv HaAsara. He said that two days after their deaths, his family decided to renounce revenge. The activist said that revenge would not bring back his parents but would only fuel an endless cycle of trauma and bloodshed.
Inon stressed that Hamas committed horrific war crimes on October 7 by killing and abducting Israelis. At the same time, he said that the Israeli government used these crimes to wage a devastating war of revenge. According to him, the war caused catastrophic destruction in Gaza and accelerated the forced displacement of Palestinians and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Discussion of the UN resolution
The meeting was devoted to a periodic report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted in 2016 and aimed at stopping settlement construction. Acting UN Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov presented a report containing sharp accusations against Israel over settlement expansion, demolitions, and the displacement of Palestinians. It also addressed harm to the humanitarian space in Gaza.
Representatives of the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and other states criticized settlement expansion and the E1 plan, saying that this jeopardizes the prospect of establishing two states. The statements also mentioned restrictions on trade in settlement goods and sanctions against individuals linked to violence and settlement expansion.
Israel's position
Deputy head of Israel's mission to the UN Noa Furman expressed condolences to Inon over the deaths of his parents. She also criticized the UN Security Council for still not recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization. According to her, the key obstacle to peace is the absence of a Palestinian partner committed to a peaceful settlement. Furman also accused the Palestinian Authority of continuing payments to terrorists and their families and said that peace requires the disarmament of Hamas, counterterrorism efforts, and reform of the Palestinian Authority.
