The Israeli mission to the UN condemned the response of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to the massacre of 900 Israelis by Hamas terrorists.
"More than 900 innocent Israelis lay dead. Thousands remain injured. 260 killed at a musical festival. 100 murdered in a single kibbutz. Yet, the High Commissioner cannot bring himself to call these barbaric acts terrorism. He cannot bring himself to condemn those who carried out the attacks as terrorists," the Israeli mission stated.
"The High Commissioner talks of a powder keg. Yet he does not mention who lit it. He does not mention that on Saturday, over 1,500 Hamas terrorists entered Israel, brutally murdered hundreds of our citizens in cold blood, and kidnapped dozens more. He does not mention that more than 4,000 rockets have been indiscriminately launched at Israeli civilians from Gaza. This is not a situation which “plays out time and time again”. This is an unprecedented slaughter of innocent Israelis, and Israel has every right to defend itself against such brutality.
"Israel only targets terrorist capabilities in Gaza, while Hamas is using the local population and hostages in Gaza as human shields. The full responsibility of the situation in Israel and in Gaza lies with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, two terrorist organizations backed by the Iranian regime.
"These attacks remind the Jewish people of pogroms. Testimonies from survivors remind us of the darkest days during the Holocaust. The response by the international community must be clear. It must call a spade a spade. It must call these barbaric acts which occurred over the weekend, acts of terrorism. It must call those who committed these acts, terrorists. It must call for all the immediate release of all those held captive in Gaza," the Israeli mission's statement concluded.