The chairman of the Munich Security Conference Christoph Heusgen, usually a hardcore trans-Atlanticist and war hawk, however, defended UN General Secretary António Guterres, who on Oct. 24 had made himself a target of Israeli fury with remarks to the UN Security Council on Israel’s suppression of the Palestinians.
Heusgen on Oct. 24 defended the statement earlier that day by Guterres, who had said of Hamas’ organized killings of 1,400 people in Israel, that it was important “to recognize that Hamas’ attacks did not take place in a vacuum.” Guterres had spoken of Israel’s longstanding “oppressive occupation” of Palestinians. Heusgen, who had spoken of a “Hamas action,” had told an interviewer on ZDF’s “Heute Journal” broadcast: “Guterres is a very level-headed man,” explaining that when the UN Secretary General refers to the “56 years of occupation of the Palestinian territories, then that is exactly what is in current international law in UN resolutions. The latest resolution says that the occupation is a flagrant violation of international law.” Although Heusgen also argued for a return to the goal of a two-state solution, he had however referred to Hamas’ Oct. 7 mass murder of Israeli civilians as the “Hamas action.”
Israel’s Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor sharply criticized Heusgen and questioned his suitability to lead the Munich Security Conference. He denounced Heusgen’s interview as “outrageous,” saying Heusgen had “trivialized and cold-heartedly described Hamas’ bestial terror attack … as a ‘Hamas action’ and did not condemn it with a word.”
Prosor said to those who feel prompted to lecture Israel and give unsolicited advice “on how we should react to the bloodiest attack on Jews since the Shoa on our national territory … Israel does not need relativizations. Israel does not need lectures. And above all, we don’t need them from you, Mr. Heusgen. Shame on you!”
Heusgen has in the meantime apologized for his “imprecise” remarks on Hamas, but has not retracted his agreement with Guterres’ statement to the UN Security Council.
