Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said on Monday that he saw no point in cooperating with the United Nations and labeled it “the Foreign Ministry of the Hamas movement” following its calls for an independent probe into recent Palestinian deaths on the Gaza border.
“There is not a single reason to cooperate with the United Nations. The UN is a hostile structure … The UN has turned into the Foreign Ministry of the Hamas terrorist organization,” Erdan said in an interview with the Army Radio (Galei Tzahal) when asked whether Israel should cooperate with the organization if the latter launches an investigation.
Even if there were some breaches on the Israeli part, Tel Aviv has its independent competent agencies capable of conducting an investigation on their own, the minister stressed.
Erdan was commenting on Friday’s UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for an independent investigation into the deaths of Palestinians during a recent mass protest in the Gaza Strip. The UN chief’s political affairs aide, Taye-Brook Zerihoun, said that Israel should use lethal force only as a last resort.
The UN initiative is connected with a mass protest camp along the border with Israel launched by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on April 30. During the first day of protests, 15 demonstrators were killed and over 1,500 more injured. A number of foreign activists have accused Israel of disproportionate use of force against protesters and called for a probe. At the same time, the Israeli side claimed that it had responded to violent actions of the Palestinians.
The Palestinian protest dubbed “The Great Return March” that kicked off on Friday is expected to end on May 15, when Palestinians will commemorate the Nakba (disaster in Arabic), ethnic cleansing and forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians after Israel announced its independence in 1948.
Hamas, listed as a terrorist organization in many countries, including the United States and Israel, gained control of the Gaza Strip following the 2007 election. The movement is one of the organizers of the ongoing protests.