Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely has asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of the United Nations to retract his statement that the Israeli "occupation has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people." Hotovely said on Tuesday, "I call upon Secretary General Guterres to correct the distortion that has been created at the UN over the years.... On the day that the UN knows to demand facts and stops the misguided use of the word 'occupation,' it will regain credibility as an organization founded to uphold justice and truth."
Hotovely noted that Israel is not an occupier in its [own] land." She concluded, "The narrative of the occupation was created by Palestinian propaganda and it is very unfortunate that the United Nations has been dragged in to lead it."