Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan addressed the UN General Assembly today (Wednesday) at a meeting on the American veto of the Palestinian Authority's bid for full member-state status, and accused the UN of being the "main impediment to peace" in the Middle East.
Erdan began by noting the end of the Passover holiday this week.
"On Passover, Jewish people around the globe gather together at the Seder – our special holiday meal – to tell the story of our liberation," he said. "We remind ourselves of the suffering we endured, the generations-long hardships we survived on the road to salvation. We remember this pain by eating Matzah – the bread of affliction – and Maror – the bitter herbs – and we dip our food in saltwater to commemorate our tears."
Erdan noted, "Yet this year, we did not need bitter herbs and saltwater to remember the pain. This year, every Jewish family had an empty hole in their hearts."
He continued, "This year, every Jew focused on the atrocities of October 7th and the suffering of the Israeli hostages held in Hamas terror tunnels. We couldn’t really celebrate our ancestors’ liberation while our brothers and sisters are still waiting to be freed from the Hamas monsters."
"Yet as my people marked this Passover with grief, the UN is again seeking to reward the perpetrators of the horrors. The UN couldn’t care less about Israel. To hell with our safety. To hell with our future. And to hell with our hostages," he accused. "The General Assembly is fueled by nothing other than political interests. Not by the UN Charter. Not by morality. And nothing exemplifies the UN’s rotten values more than the advancement of Palestinian Statehood."
He noted that the General Assembly has never condemned Hamas or adopted a single measure on behalf of the hostages who are held by Hamas. "Instead, this body has focused only on recognizing a Palestinian terror state, unilaterally. An entity fueled by Jewish genocide, terror, and Nazi-like incitement."
"By advancing a Palestinian state, you are telling the child-murdering Hamas rapists that terror pays off," he warned. "You have done nothing for the victims, but have mobilized for the murderers. It makes me want to vomit."
Erdan asserted that the Palestinian Authority "does not meet the criteria for statehood. No Palestinian leader – not a single one – has condemned Hamas or their massacre. You prefer another rogue state and to hell with the Jewish State!"
Erdan pointed out that "the Palestinian Authority is paying salaries to the very terrorists that invaded Israel and murdered 1,200 innocent Israelis. This is who you want to grant statehood to?"
"Granting full UN membership to the Palestinians will only have two destructive results," he cautioned. "One, it will further incentivize terror. And two, it is a clear message to the Palestinians that they never ever have to sit at the negotiating table, let alone to make any compromises. Everyone who knows something about negotiations can understand what I just said."
"The Palestinians have rejected every peace plan ever made and they continue to support terror and boycott any negotiations. And now they know that their rejectionism pays off," Erdan said.
He predicted that "these UN sessions will be remembered in the future as one of the primary obstacles to resolving the conflict. Remember my words."
He accused the United Nations of being "the main impediment to peace! You! Every single one of you that supports a forced unilateral establishment of a terror state is an obstacle to peace! You are the dream come true for every Palestinian terrorist that seeks to destroy Israel through diplomatic terror!"
"Without your support, the Palestinians would have had to internalize that negotiations and mutual compromises are the only way forward. That’s how you make peace," he said. "You should be ashamed of yourselves, those who support a unilateral forced terror state."
He accused the UN being accomplices of "modern-day Hitlers such as Yahya Sinwar and Ayatollah Khamenei. There are Nazi terrorists like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Revolutionary Guard in Iran. And there are collaborators and those who turn a blind eye just like the UN and its agencies such as UNRWA, OCHA, and UN Women. Just like so many in the General Assembly. This body reeks of antisemitism. It’s everywhere."
Erdan asserted that "the UN cares nothing for Israeli blood. Nothing. Zero. It is a collaborator with the Nazis of our day. Working to ensure Hamas’ survival and even reward them for murder and rape. I have no words."
He noted that this is the ninth time the General Assembly has met to discuss Israel's response to the October 7, and yet "not one of the meetings focused on condemning Hamas or releasing the hostages. Not even one. I’m disgusted by this institution."
He concluded with a reference to the passage of the Passover Haggadah that states that in every generation, there are those who attempt to destroy the Jewish people. "Remember: many have tried to destroy us – from the most powerful of empires to the most evilof decrees – but all have failed. We are the eternal people and Israel is here to stay."