UN’s António Guterres calls for immediate ceasefire to end ‘epic suffering’ in Gaza

[Social Media]

 

The United Nations’ secretary general has called for an immediate ceasefire to end “epic suffering” in the Gaza Strip after Israeli airstrikes reportedly killed more than 700 people in a single day and hospitals began to shut down for lack of fuel.

António Guterres said the bombardment and blockade of Gaza amounted to the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people” and violated international law, comments that sparked a fierce row with Israel.

 

“To ease epic suffering, make the delivery of aid easier and safer and facilitate the release of hostages. I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” he said.

Guterres said the 7 October attacks by Hamas were “appalling” but 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.”

Israel’s envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, called on Guterres to resign immediately, accusing him of being detached from reality. “His comments … constitute a justification for terrorism and murder. It’s sad that a person with such views is the head of an organisation that arose after the Holocaust.”

Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, cancelled a planned meeting with Gutteres.

Airstrikes killed at least 704 people in the past day, the Hamas-run health ministry said, bringing Gaza’s total death toll after 18 days of bombing to 5,791 including 2,360 children.

 

Twenty trucks of aid that had been expected to enter the besieged territory on Tuesday were unable to cross into Gaza from Egypt amid wrangling between Israel, Egypt, the US and the UN over procedures for inspecting the shipments.

The Palestinian Red Crescent later confirmed that eight trucks had arrived in Gaza carrying water, food and medicine.

Asked by reporters in Washington whether aid was getting into Gaza, the US president, Joe Biden, replied: “Not fast enough.”

Three hospitals could no longer function because they had run out of fuel to generate electricity, the Palestinian health minister, Mai al-Kaila, told a press conference. She called for a safe corridor to ferry injured and critically ill people to Egyptian hospitals.

Late on Tuesday an Israeli military spokesperson said fuel supplies would not be included in any aid shipments to the territory. “Fuel will not enter Gaza as Hamas uses it for its operational needs,” said R Adm Daniel Hagari. “If necessary, Hamas can return the fuel it stole from UNRWA [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees] and give it to the hospitals.”

According to the UN, some Palestinians who had fled their homes in northern Gaza have returned because of a lack of food and shelter in the south.

 

FULL REPORT

 

[Tropposurfer]

76 years of systematic institutionalised apartheid and genocide gets ya what ya got.

 

After all why would anyone in the world bother to acknowledge, or consider those souls as even  people? People who have no nothing to give or be taken or traded, no wealth no access to the land, no resources, no inclusions in the GDP of the land their people have lived in for 4 thousand years and more.

 

The Poms left in 47 cause they could not stop and refused to get their soldiers killed in the crossfire, so they simply threw their hands up and left. 

For 70+ years the Israeli Zionist movement (not representing the Jewish faith in any way) has not stopped bombing, bulldozing, shooting, beating, poisoning wells, destroying crops, evicting, steam rolling day in and day out the Palestinian people from the land called Palestine.

No negotiations only cowardly conniving empty promises, empty treaties broken by Israel once again consuming land not theirs and using the institutions of the courts, legislation, and the army to justify and validate such atrocities, with yet more murdering, and land stealing.

The Arabic people fought back against an unending supply of money and arms to the Israeli Zionist movement crushing them under foot.

 

In the days of Meir there was some semblance of negotiations and respect for the Palestinian people and their right to live in Palestine alongside Israeli's equally withy equal rights.

But slowly and inexorably the successive governments of Israel moved further and further to the Zionist right. In their Imperialist arrogance and blindness they blamed the Palestinians for fighting back against their being brutalised, humiliated.

Now Israel is headed by a cold hearted power mad crook who has made deals with the fascist Zionist power cliques to hold power and accrue even more crookedly gotten wealth.

Now, in his devil-deal he is bound to supporting the lust of the Zionists to exterminate Palestinians and the notion of a Palestinian state from any hope in mans future.

Not that Netanyahu ever cared for Palestinians. 

 

 

[Morch]

43 minutes ago, Tropposurfer said:

76 years of systematic institutionalised apartheid and genocide gets ya what ya got.

 

After all why would anyone in the world bother to acknowledge, or consider those souls as even  people? People who have no nothing to give or be taken or traded, no wealth no access to the land, no resources, no inclusions in the GDP of the land their people have lived in for 4 thousand years and more.

 

The Poms left in 47 cause they could not stop and refused to get their soldiers killed in the crossfire, so they simply threw their hands up and left. 

For 70+ years the Israeli Zionist movement (not representing the Jewish faith in any way) has not stopped bombing, bulldozing, shooting, beating, poisoning wells, destroying crops, evicting, steam rolling day in and day out the Palestinian people from the land called Palestine.

No negotiations only cowardly conniving empty promises, empty treaties broken by Israel once again consuming land not theirs and using the institutions of the courts, legislation, and the army to justify and validate such atrocities, with yet more murdering, and land stealing.

The Arabic people fought back against an unending supply of money and arms to the Israeli Zionist movement crushing them under foot.

 

In the days of Meir there was some semblance of negotiations and respect for the Palestinian people and their right to live in Palestine alongside Israeli's equally withy equal rights.

But slowly and inexorably the successive governments of Israel moved further and further to the Zionist right. In their Imperialist arrogance and blindness they blamed the Palestinians for fighting back against their being brutalised, humiliated.

Now Israel is headed by a cold hearted power mad crook who has made deals with the fascist Zionist power cliques to hold power and accrue even more crookedly gotten wealth.

Now, in his devil-deal he is bound to supporting the lust of the Zionists to exterminate Palestinians and the notion of a Palestinian state from any hope in mans future.

Not that Netanyahu ever cared for Palestinians. 

 

 

 

If you cite 76 years, your issue is simply Israel's existence. That colors all the rest of your post and makes the origins of the rant understandable.

 

For an alleged 'genocide', this seems like a half-arsed job. After all these years, there are many more Palestinians around then there were. Either you, or the Israelis misunderstands what 'genocide' is.

 

Don't let the fact that for the first 20 years of its existence Israel did was not in control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, so at that time could not quite have done all them awful things you list. I'm pointing this out not as denial that some of what you post is correct - but to highlight you disregard for facts.

 

And it's funny about them Israeli Zionists 'not representing the Jewish faith in any way' - there was just a link posted not long ago on a parallel topic. It's a voice recording of a Hamas terrorist calling home from a village just attacked, using a dead woman's phone. He excitedly shouts, proud, to his family back in Gaza that he killed ten Jews. Not Israelis. Not Zionists. Jews. May want to have a look at the Hamas Charter and get a clue as to where that came from.

 

Much of what you mention does happen (if not quite as dramatically as portrayed) in the West Bank. This instance is about the Gaza Strip. Israel pulled out of there long ago. No settlements. No land grabs. No IDF. The choice to turn it into a terrorist base was Hamas's - it could have chosen a different path.

 

There were instances of negotiations with the Palestinians - at least four Israeli Prime Minister engaged in such. You want to paint the failure of talks on Israel alone? That's your choice. The facts are ,of course, different.

 

As with most haters - you do not actually say much about the Palestinians side. Cannot come up with ways in which they constructively worked to achieve peace, or their goal of having a state. Any violence on their part is apparently justified, and no accountability on their part required. While I'd agree Netanyahu is a bad leader etc., it's not like the Palestinian leadership touts better characters.

 

 

[AgMech Cowboy]

The United Nations’ secretary general António Guterres is an idiot and nothing more than a stooge.

[scottiejohn]

19 minutes ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

nothing more than a stooge.

A so called "stooge" for who?

 

PS;  I do not necessarily actually agree with what he said!

[billd766]

35 minutes ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

The United Nations’ secretary general António Guterres is an idiot and nothing more than a stooge.

Could YOU do any better.

 

Instead of being ignorant and insulting, why don't you come up with a  viable alternative?

[Morch]

8 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Could YOU do any better.

 

Instead of being ignorant and insulting, why don't you come up with a  viable alternative?

 

Before asking for alternatives, perhaps you'd bother to explain how Guterres's words represent a 'viable' solution?

[Hanaguma]

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

Could YOU do any better.

 

Instead of being ignorant and insulting, why don't you come up with a  viable alternative?

The alternative is realizing that Guitierrez is wrong about the conflict. It isn't about land. If it were, it would have been solved 5 times already. It is a conflict about hate and religion.  The Muslim countries are simply not able to accept a Jewish state in their midst. 

 

This is a hard concept for secular or pseudo-religious folks in the west to understand. Logic and reason have little sway in areas where religion rules. All you need to do is see the barbarism and naked hatred in the attacks by Hamas. This is not a geopolitical problem. It is deeper and much more feral than that. And no amount of conferences or cease fires will end it.

[wombat]

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

Could YOU do any better.

 

Instead of being ignorant and insulting, why don't you come up with a  viable alternative?

the alternative is the end game

[billd766]

1 hour ago, wombat said:

the alternative is the end game

But is that the only end game, whatever that is?

 

I am hopeful that wiser heads are around to stop this.

 

Unfortunately there does not seem to be wiser heads in the Hamas or the Israeli leadership (in alphabetical order).

 

Each side has its own grievances (true or false lies in history) and each side believes that they alone are right and will fight to the last man, woman, child, cats and dogs to prove it.

 

What will the eventual winners end up with?

 

Thousands and millions of dead people and 2 countries destroyed. Sadly if the phoenix does arise from the ashes, IMHO they will start all over again.

 

What will the survivors actually have gained?

 

 

SFA.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, billd766 said:

Could YOU do any better.

 

Instead of being ignorant and insulting, why don't you come up with a  viable alternative?

Because being insulting is all certain posters have got.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 hours ago, billd766 said:

Unfortunately there does not seem to be wiser heads in the Hamas or the Israeli leadership (in alphabetical order).

You can add America to that. Sending 2 carrier groups and not even trying to mediate is not the way to solve this problem.

To then demand that certain countries do not intervene or be attacked only heightens the IMO insanity writ large in that unfortunate region.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 hours ago, billd766 said:

What will the survivors actually have gained?

Nothing except hate and suffering, and many of us outside the conflict zone will also suffer. This could have been solved way back in Clinton's day, but the ongoing invasion of Palestinian land has rendered such highly unlikely.

 

It's just sad when biden started muttering about the "two state" solution, as if it were even possible without israel withdrawing from it's illegal occupation of the West Bank and West Jerusalem.

[thaibeachlovers]

Apparently the Palestinians are sponsoring a debate in the UN General Assembly tomorrow. I expect the debate to go against israel/ US. The world has indeed been watching.

[thaibeachlovers]

As reported on Al Jazeera, the latest US resolution on Gaza was vetoed by Russia and China.

[thaibeachlovers]

13 hours ago, Tropposurfer said:

76 years of systematic institutionalised apartheid and genocide gets ya what ya got.

 

After all why would anyone in the world bother to acknowledge, or consider those souls as even  people? People who have no nothing to give or be taken or traded, no wealth no access to the land, no resources, no inclusions in the GDP of the land their people have lived in for 4 thousand years and more.

 

The Poms left in 47 cause they could not stop and refused to get their soldiers killed in the crossfire, so they simply threw their hands up and left. 

For 70+ years the Israeli Zionist movement (not representing the Jewish faith in any way) has not stopped bombing, bulldozing, shooting, beating, poisoning wells, destroying crops, evicting, steam rolling day in and day out the Palestinian people from the land called Palestine.

No negotiations only cowardly conniving empty promises, empty treaties broken by Israel once again consuming land not theirs and using the institutions of the courts, legislation, and the army to justify and validate such atrocities, with yet more murdering, and land stealing.

The Arabic people fought back against an unending supply of money and arms to the Israeli Zionist movement crushing them under foot.

 

In the days of Meir there was some semblance of negotiations and respect for the Palestinian people and their right to live in Palestine alongside Israeli's equally withy equal rights.

But slowly and inexorably the successive governments of Israel moved further and further to the Zionist right. In their Imperialist arrogance and blindness they blamed the Palestinians for fighting back against their being brutalised, humiliated.

Now Israel is headed by a cold hearted power mad crook who has made deals with the fascist Zionist power cliques to hold power and accrue even more crookedly gotten wealth.

Now, in his devil-deal he is bound to supporting the lust of the Zionists to exterminate Palestinians and the notion of a Palestinian state from any hope in mans future.

Not that Netanyahu ever cared for Palestinians. 

 

 

I agree with most of that, but expect a lot of attacks for it from the usual posters.

[thaibeachlovers]

8 hours ago, wombat said:

the alternative is the end game

Are you implying that a regional war between Arab/ Iranian forces and America/ Western countries in the Middle East is the end game?

 

I have certainly read about such in a certain book ( those who understand will know what I'm talking about ).

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Nothing except hate and suffering, and many of us outside the conflict zone will also suffer. This could have been solved way back in Clinton's day, but the ongoing invasion of Palestinian land has rendered such highly unlikely.

 

It's just sad when biden started muttering about the "two state" solution, as if it were even possible without israel withdrawing from it's illegal occupation of the West Bank and West Jerusalem.

That should be East Jerusalem.

[Nick Carter icp]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Are you implying that a regional war between Arab/ Iranian forces and America/ Western countries in the Middle East is the end game?

 

I have certainly read about such in a certain book ( those who understand will know what I'm talking about ).

 

  Just name the book, no need to be so vague and secretive 

[thaibeachlovers]

43 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That should be East Jerusalem.

Amazing. I just corrected West to East and got a sad face for that.

[billd766]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Amazing. I just corrected West to East and got a sad face for that.

You can't fix stupid.

[Hanaguma]

Guterres really needs to be sacked. His nonsense about nothing occurring "in a vacuum" is whataboutism at its worst.  Please let us know when Israelis entered Gaza, killed people and raped young girls beside their dead friends, set out to murder the elderly, and eagerly called home to tell their parents how they were doing it. 

 

The level of visceral hatred and atrocity in the Hamas attacks shows the true feelings of many on the Muslim side. The fact that they can make video clips of their crimes, get paid bounties for the hostages they take, and are cheered on by the Gazans all put paid to the idea that a political solution can be easily reached.

[sirineou]

14 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Guterres really needs to be sacked. His nonsense about nothing occurring "in a vacuum" is whataboutism at its worst.  Please let us know when Israelis entered Gaza, killed people and raped young girls beside their dead friends,

How do you think Palestine  became from this 

 

To this 

[Hanaguma]

18 minutes ago, sirineou said:

How do you think Palestine  became from this 

 

To this 

Any chance to find out where you got those maps?

 

AFAIK, there were neither countries called Palestine OR Israel before 1948.  In any case, countries come and go, borders change, populations shift.   Should Germans have the "right of return" to go back to Gdansk in Poland? Mexicans to go back to California?   Israel is a fact, it will not go away, in spite of the wishes of so many Islamists world over.  

[Rimmer]

A post linking to social media videos has been removed  Please see our Community Standards

18. Social media content is acceptable in most forums. However, in factual areas such as but not limited to news, current affairs and health topics, social media cannot be used unless it is from a credible news media source or a government agency, and must include a link to the original source.

[sirineou]

3 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Any chance to find out where you got those maps?

 

AFAIK, there were neither countries called Palestine OR Israel before 1948.  In any case, countries come and go, borders change, populations shift.   Should Germans have the "right of return" to go back to Gdansk in Poland? Mexicans to go back to California?   Israel is a fact, it will not go away, in spite of the wishes of so many Islamists world over.  

Hey what's homeland here and a homeland there? People are so touchy this days. 

I say live and let live.

They took your homeland? just go someplace else.

Plenty of room  for everyone here. No reason to get upset. 

[NativeBob]

21 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Should Germans have the "right of return" to go back to Gdansk in Poland? 

They tried and we know what happened next, right?

[Morch]

59 minutes ago, sirineou said:

How do you think Palestine  became from this 

 

To this 

 

You do realize that prior to 1967, both areas marked as 'Palestinian' were under Egyptian and Jordanian rule, right? Jordan even annexed the West Bank. The Palestinians did not react strongly to either country's actions.

 

That aside, Israel obviously made mistakes, big ones - by maintaining the ongoing military occupation, and worse, pushing the illegal settlement effort. But it is not like the Palestinians were ready and willing to make peace or even concession until a long time after 1967 either.

 

It's fine to lay all of the blame on Israel's shoulders, but it's not an accurate description of reality. At least to a degree, the Palestinian should be held accountable, or at least acknowledge their own mistakes, bad choices and so on.

 

There's a parallel topic dealing more specifically with West Bank related issues, btw - maybe more fitting to discuss these issues there.

 

For the record, my view is that most of what Israel does in the West Bank is wrong and illegal, but not so when it comes to the Gaza Strip.

[sirineou]

9 minutes ago, Morch said:

You do realize that prior to 1967, both areas marked as 'Palestinian' were under Egyptian and Jordanian rule, right? Jordan even annexed the West Bank. The Palestinians did not react strongly to either country's actions.

Yea but the Egyptians and Jordanians did not take their land away and established an apartheid state. 

I am sure you were indignant about the apartheid situation in South Africa. Where is your indignation about this apartheid state? instead of being an Israeli apologist?What's the matter, ardent the Palestinians brown enough for you.

 

The Israelis claim a two state solution.

look at the picture below and tell e where do you see the makings of a viable second state???????

 

 

[Nick Carter icp]

5 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Yea but the Egyptians and Jordanians did not take their land away and established an apartheid state. 

I am sure you were indignant about the apartheid situation in South Africa. Where is your indignation about this apartheid state? instead of being an Israeli apologist?What's the matter, ardent the Palestinians brown enough for you.

 

The Israelis claim a two state solution.

look at the picture below and tell e where do you see the makings of a viable second state???????

 

 

 

   Is there some kind of reward given to the poster who can write "apartheid" the most times in one paragraph ?

   If so, I think that we have a winner here