Israel rejects UNESCO’s acceptance of draft resolution on Gaza

JERUSALEM

Israel announced Friday it rejected a decision by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) regarding the situation in Palestine and Gaza.

“Israel rejects with disgust the one-sided resolution taken by UNESCO today regarding the situation in Gaza,” said the Foreign Ministry.

“The resolution totally ignores the October 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists, who brutally murdered about 1200 people in cold blood, and kidnapped 240 including babies, children, women, and the elderly,” it said.

It stated that “the resolution gives the green light to the Hamas terrorist organization, which is worse than ISIS, to continue to murder and kidnap as well as to continue to use the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields.”

“UNESCO is cooperating in the distortion of basic facts and in massacre denial in the service of extremist governments and supporters of terrorism,” it said. “UNESCO, which dedicated a moment of silence only in memory of Palestinian victims, is an organization that has an inherent moral failing and should be ashamed of itself and of its debates.”

Israel thanked “countries that supported it and the amendments proposed by the United States, and opposed the Arab group's resolution.”

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip -- including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship -- since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7.

At least 11,078 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,400, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi