Germany backs UN chief amid Israeli criticism on Gaza comments

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Wednesday expressed support for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres amid criticism of his remarks on Israel’s military actions in Gaza at the Security Council.

“At the moment the situation is very charged, tense ... And I don't have the feeling that such demands for resignation are appropriate,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told a press briefing in Berlin.

“Of course, he (Guterres) has the trust of the federal (German) government,” added Hebestreit, whose country is a staunch ally of Israel.

Addressing the Security Council on Tuesday, Guterres condemned the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, but said they "did not happen in a vacuum."

"The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation," he said. "They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing."

He argued that the "grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas," and the "attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."

The comments drew anger from Israel, which demanded Guterres to resign.

The conflict in Gaza, which has been under Israeli bombardment and a blockade, began when the Palestinian group Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea and air.

Hamas said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched a relentless air campaign against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.​​​​​​​

- ‘Shocked by misinterpretation’

The UN chief in a statement on Wednesday said he was “shocked by the misinterpretations” of his statement, and he did not justify the actions by Hamas.

“I am shocked by the misinterpretations by some of my statement yesterday in the Security Council – as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas.

“This is false. It was the opposite,” he said.