Israel's row with the UN.

Israel is in the process of banning UN officials after the general secretary's comments.

He condemned Hamas and also said that their actions didn't happen in a vacuum. He also said that Israel had committed war crimes and was inflicting collective punishment on Palestinians.

I have read his comments and I can't see how what he said was wrong. The Israeli government themselves have said that all people in Gaza are responsible for what Hamas did. They are also clearly acting on that assumption and collective punishment is a war crime according the the UN's own rules.

That Palestinians have been existing under military occupation is likewise irrefutable. Is this a sign that movers and shakers of world politics are moving against the actions of the Netanyahu government? I really hope that it is.

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SW-User Best Comment

The Israeli government is misrepresenting, some might say deliberately, the words "didn't happen in a vacuum" to mean that there was provocation and hence the actions of Hamas were justified. However, the statement from the UN chief included the following:

I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel.

Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets.

All hostages must be treated humanely and released immediately and without conditions. I respectfully note the presence among us of members of their families

So to claim that the UN is justifying Hamas' recent actions is disingenuous. The UN is doing what it is supposed to do. No state or nation should be beyond scrutiny and indeed criticism.