
Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon spoke to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News about the impact of the fall of the Assad regime in Syria internationally, the effort to replace UNRWA given its ties to the Hamas terrorist organization and conversely, the UN's attempts to strengthen UNRWA.
Addressing Israel's efforts to secure its northern border and destroy Assad's military assets, including his chemical weapons stockpiles, to ensure they do not fall into terrorist hands, Danon said. "We are preparing for a discussion at the Security Council. We have no doubt that the issue will be on the agenda." Danon said that multiple countries, including Russia, France and Syria, have already complained about Israel's actions in Syria "They claim that we are invading, taking over and occupying. These are allegations that we reject."
"Our position is clear, we have taken defensive measures to ensure that extremist Islamist forces do not take over positions on our border and we are waiting to see whether the government in Syria stabilizes and whether the borders are going to be quiet or not," he said.
Could the UN or the international community force Israel to withdraw the IDF to the border? Danon believes that it would not be easy to force such a move. "The world is looking at what is happening in Syria and it is not clear to it who is against whom there. We have taken actions there such as neutralizing dangers and damaging infrastructure that have endangered not only Israel, but also other regional countries, including Turkey, so the world should thank Israel for the actions we have carried out in Syria."
Preparations for the expected discussion at the UN Security Council include collecting materials, preliminary talks with various parties involved in the Syrian arena, and "presenting the truth and the dangers to the world. There was a sense of relief when Assad's regime fell, but it must be made clear to the world that those who took over Syria are not Zionists and very quickly this euphoria can be replaced by a sense of danger. We say these things in a measured manner. We are a peace-loving nation, but if we are forced to defend our borders, we will do so with courage, determination and strength."
Danon said that it is clear to him that "not everyone will accept this, but we have proven in the past year that we are determined, and in recent months I have been dealing with severe attacks here. This determination has led us to significant achievements. There are dozens of discussions that we are holding and we are dealing with the decisions that are made against us. You see where the Middle East was a year ago and where it is today, and all of this is thanks to the decisive and aggressive approach of the State of Israel."
Addressing the UN's continued support for UNRWA despite the extent to which the organization has been compromised by Hamas, Danon said, "This organization should have passed from the world a long time ago. It has failed on the professional side, even before we talk about the moral side. Billions of dollars have been invested and have brought the Palestinians nowhere, neither education nor knowledge, and the level of services is very low. In the moral sense, when Hamas was allowed to take over the organization in Gaza and do whatever they want with it, they have no right to exist. We have made this issue very clear, but unfortunately there are senior officials in the UN, including the Secretary-General, who prefer to wage a political struggle instead of talking about replacements."
The Ambassador noted that even UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has admitted that replacements for UNRWA could be found, but UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is fighting keep UNRWA in the picture, desite the fact that "the law passed by the Knesset is very clear. At the end of January, UNRWA will not be able to operate inside Israel in the way it has operated."
"We work with other organizations effectively and professionally," saidDanon, referring to the possibility that there will be a demand for Israeli humanitarian management instead of UNRWA. "We are not saying no to humanitarian aid, but no to UNRWA, which is a tool used by Hamas. Last week, I read from the UN podium letters that we wrote twenty years ago about Hamas's involvement in UNRWA, and they did nothing about it. Therefore, the UN will be better served by activating other entities to provide a response."