Hamas can either come back and negotiate the hostage and ceasefire deal or wait and watch its leadership fall “one by one,” ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told the United Nations Security Council on Friday.
“Hamas has a choice,” he said. “They can come back to the table and negotiate, or they can wait and watch their leadership fall, one by one. We will not stop until our people come home – all of them.”
Condemnations of the United Nations members' stances on the conflict
Danon continued by condemning stances taken by members of the UNSC, noting that they had compared the plight of hostages abducted on October 7 by invading terrorists to Palestinian prisoners arrested and held in Israel.
“Let me be clear: Israeli hostages are innocent men, women, and children abducted for no reason other than being Israeli or being in Israel on October 7,” he began. “They are being starved, tortured, and hidden away in Hamas’s underground dungeons. In contrast, Palestinians who have been arrested by Israel are terrorists, many with blood on their hands. They have committed the most heinous acts of terror.
“For the sake of freeing our hostages, we found ourselves in an impossible position having to release many of these prisoners, many among them murderers serving life sentences for killing Israelis or Palestinians. Just because we were forced to exchange murderers for innocents does not mean there is any point of comparison,” he stressed, in reference to previous ceasefire-hostage deal agreements.
“Anyone who attempts to draw such an equation is intentionally promoting Hamas propaganda,” Danon accused, stressing that prisoners were cared for by the state and had rights not given to those abducted by Hamas.
“The Palestinian prisoners are fed, clothed, and protected. They have access to legal counsel at the benefit of our robust and independent judiciary that will review their cases without bias. To compare them to hostages is not only an insult to the victims; it is plain moral bankruptcy. We have unfortunately come to expect such bankruptcy from some at this table.”
Israel's return to war
Danon also assured the UN that the decision to return to war in Gaza was not one “made lightly” but that it was “forced upon us by Hamas.”
Elaborating on this, he added, “After weeks of negotiations, after offering to expand the ceasefire in good faith, Hamas refused to release our hostages and continued to stall negotiations. They knew it’s Ramadan, they knew Passover is coming, but they decided to reject all offers.
“The world watched as Hamas spat in our face, in the face of the Israeli people waiting for the return of their loved ones,” the UN ambassador said. “The world watched as Hamas rejected every opportunity to return 59 innocent men, women, and children home. Israel had no choice but to act.”