Earlier in the evening, Ban called on Israel to halt its violence against children in Gaza as he addressed the UN Security Council.
“This is a black day for the United Nations,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Thursday night in response to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s sharp criticism of Israeli actions in Gaza during last summer’s war with Hamas.
“It turns out, there is no limit to the United Nations’ hypocrisy,” Netanyahu added.
Earlier in the evening, Ban called on Israel to halt its violence against children in Gaza as he addressed the UN Security Council.
“I urge Israel to take concrete and immediate steps, including by reviewing existing policies and practices, to protect and prevent the killing and maiming of children and to respect the special protections afforded to schools and hospitals,” Ban said.
He spoke at an open UN Security Council meeting to debate the report on the dangers that children in war zones face, which was submitted by the UN’s special envoy on children in armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui of Algeria.
“Last year was one of the worst in recent memory for children in countries affected by conflict,” Ban told the UNSC.
He spoke against the grave violations against children in the Central African Republic, Iraq, Nigeria, South Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as the suffering of those in Gaza as a result of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge.
But Israel was the only country he singled out for additional criticism and he made no mention of Hamas.
“Instead of mentioning the facts, that Hamas turned Gaza children into hostages by firing [rockets] at Israel [and] that it dug terror tunnels in the direction of kindergartens…the UN has chosen to preach to Israel, which has chosen to abide by international standards,” Netanyahu said.
Earlier this week former generals from the US and Europe declared that Israel had abided by international law during the summer, Netanyahu said.
Far from adopting this view, the “UN has granted Hamas immunity even though there is incontestable proof that Hamas committed war crimes when it launched rockets from hospital, mosques and UN facilities,” Netanyahu said.
Even Meretz MK Ilan Gilon spoke out against Ban and charged that he had “lowered the moral foundation of any criticism the UN and its organization would level against Israel.”
He added that “what Israel has forgotten about human rights, other countries under scrutiny [those listed by Ban] have yet to learn.”