The Israeli government harshly criticized U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres for not including the terrorist organization Hamas in a report on groups suspected of committing acts of sexual violence during conflict.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused Guterres of standing “shoulder to shoulder with Hamas rapists and murderers.” He added that the Portuguese leader ignored “the plethora of testimony and evidence that was collected and then included” in the report presented at the beginning of this year by Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten.
The report, put together by the official after her visit to Israel, points out that rapes likely occurred during the October 7 attacks. It also states that there is convincing evidence that the hostages faced sexual abuse in Gaza.
However, Guterres claimed in his report that there was no evidence that the acts of sexual violence were committed by Palestinian terrorist organizations. According to the leader, this is because Patten's report is not "investigative in nature" and was carried out in a "limited" time.
Amit Soussana in a chilling testimony (in English! Sound on!)
Amit was abducted to Gaza by 10! "civilians" and was kept hostage for 55 days suffering sexual abuse and rape pic.twitter.com/EhXwD7fdGM— Hamas Atrocities (@HamasAtrocities) April 4, 2024
“Guterres has turned the U.N. into an extremely antisemitic institution”
Katz blamed Guterres for refusing to hold Hamas responsible for the acts of sexual violence featured in Patten's report and for refusing to declare the Palestinian group a terrorist organization.
"I am convinced that if the crimes of the Nazi regime had come up for discussion during his tenure, he would have refused to condemn them as well, if his political interests demanded that," stated the Israeli minister. “Guterres has turned the U.N. into an extremely antisemitic and anti-Israel institution, and his time in office will be remembered as the darkest in the organization’s history,” he added.
