Danny Danon, the Israeli envoy to the United Nations, expects an apology from Tom Fletcher, the U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, for his comments last week about Gaza to the U.N. Security Council.
“For those killed and those whose voices are silenced, what more evidence do you need now? Will you act decisively to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?” Fletcher told the council on May 13. “Or will you say instead that ‘we did all we could?’”
“He knows better than that,” Danon told JNS. “He has people on the ground. You know that we are doing our best to minimize civilian casualties.”
“We will not work with Mr. Fletcher until he will make it clear that Israel is not committing a genocide,” the Israeli envoy told JNS. “We are not planning a genocide. This is outrageous that a senior U.N. official would use that language.”
Danon and Fletcher have exchanged letters since the speech, but neither side appears ready to back down.
Danon’s message accused Fletcher of delivering “a political sermon” in an attempt to weaponize the meaning of the word “genocide” against Israel.
“You had the audacity, in your capacity as a senior U.N. official, to stand before the Security Council and invoke the charge of genocide without evidence, mandate or restraint,” Danon wrote to the U.N. official.
“It was an utterly inappropriate and deeply irresponsible statement that shattered any notion of neutrality,” he added in the letter.
Fletcher wrote to Danon: “I fervently believe in the U.N. charter and in our obligation to act with humanity, independence, impartiality and neutrality and, of course, honesty about what we observe and are mandated to report.”
Spokesmen for António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, have stated repeatedly, including to JNS, that courts and not U.N. officials ought to make the legal determination whether “genocide” has occurred.
The Hamas terror group is known for inflating and mischaracterizing Palestinian death tolls in Gaza. Some of those numbers have found their way into reports and statements from U.N., U.S. and other officials. No international court has found that Israel is committing genocide.
Danon told JNS that Fletcher has neither the mandate nor the tools to determine if there is an ongoing genocide in Gaza.
“U.N. experts themselves say that in order to speak about a ‘genocide,’ you have to speak about intention,” the Israeli ambassador said. “Do you actually think we have the intention to commit genocide? That’s libel. We will not accept it, and I expect him to clarify this.”
“The sooner, the better,” Danon told JNS.
‘Cooperate with the United States’
Fletcher and the United Nations have said they won’t participate in a Washington-endorsed but non-governmental effort to deliver aid to Gaza, even though some of those involved in leading the effort are former high-ranking U.N. officials.
The United Nations has said that only the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) can provide aid to Palestinians in the coastal enclave. Israel has banned the U.N. agency and cut ties with it amid mounting evidence the Jewish state has presented, showing that the agency and its staff have ties to Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas.
JNS asked Danon if Israel feels pressure to ensure the new aid-delivery mechanism succeeds to prove that UNRWA can be shuttered. The Israeli envoy said that the global body ought to feel the pressure.
“They are afraid that the U.S. effort will be effective, that aid will not go into the hands of Hamas, and that’s why they’re putting so much pressure against this initiative,” he told JNS. “I will suggest to them to support this initiative, to cooperate with this initiative.”
“If they really care about the humanitarian problems in Gaza, they should cooperate with the United States,” he said.
Contrary to some news reporting, Israel will not be involved in the U.S. effort known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, except to “provide security in the region if it will be required,” Danon told JNS.
On Monday, the leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada and France threatened “concrete actions” against Israel if it moves forward with a renewed military offensive in Gaza and doesn’t lift restrictions on aid delivery. Hamas welcomed that statement as “an important step.”