The State of Israel said Thursday the United Nations (UN) was “an abomination” after a senior UN official denied Hamas was a terrorist organization.
Martin Griffiths, the UN‘s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told Sky News on Wednesday that “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us. As you know, it is a political movement.” (RELATED: Major Israeli Bank Blocks UN Agency’s Account Over Alleged Terror Ties: REPORT)
“According to [Martin Griffiths] Hamas is not a terrorist organization. They are a political organization, who from time to time murders, rapes and kidnaps civilians to let off steam. What an abomination the [UN] has become,” the State of Israel tweeted alongside a clip of the interview.
According to @UNReliefChief Hamas is not a terrorist organization.
They are a political organization, who from time to time murders, rapes and kidnaps civilians to let off steam.
What an abomination the @UN has become. pic.twitter.com/E6cEFjgMmd
— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) February 15, 2024
Griffiths was asked whether he thought the elimination of Hamas from power was realistic.
“I think it is very very difficult. As you say, I worked with many many different terrorist and insurgent groups. Hamas is not a terrorist group for us, of course. As you know, it is a political movement,” Griffiths said.
Griffiths went on to say that without a negotiated settlement that incorporates Hamas’ aspirations, it would be “very very difficult to dislodge these groups,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
Hamas’ 2017 general principles document “rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
The UN has faced scrutiny over allegations that terrorists have infiltrated their UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). Several UNRWA employees have been accused of participating in Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault. Roughly 10 percent of UNRWA staff in the Gaza Strip are said to have links to Islamic terrorist organizations.