Haley calls for UN resolution to condemn Hamas as terrorist organization

"We should name Hamas as the group responsible when rockets are fired from Gaza, or when fresh tunnels are discovered."

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Updated: JUNE 21, 2017 07:43
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley addresses the United Nations Security Council at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, April 4, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID)
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley addresses the United Nations Security Council at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, April 4, 2017.
(photo credit: REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID)
The Security Council should designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and issue a resolution condemning it, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said on Tuesday.
“Every ounce of what we do should be against Hamas,” Haley said as she spoke at a special meeting that marked the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War.
Haley, who visited Israel and the Palestinian territories earlier this month, devoted a large portion of her speech to attacking Hamas and to fingering it as the stumbling block to Israeli- Palestinian peace.
“They are a dangerous actor who has no care for the Palestinians, no care for the Israelis, and they are determined to destroy everything in their path,” she said, adding, “so once again, we are having this session, and once again, we will hear speeches on whether you’re for Israel, against Israel, for Palestinians, against Palestinians.”
When council members pit Israel and the Palestinians against each other, it diverts attention away from the real threat of terrorism, Haley said.
“But I would ask you to please address the real threat that is causing so many people harm, and that’s the threat of Hamas,” Haley said.
She charged that some of the Security Council’s 15 nation members had ties to Hamas and to other terrorist groups that flourish in the Gaza Strip, but did not name those states.
“We should condemn Hamas in this Council’s resolutions and statements. We should name Hamas as the group responsible when rockets are fired from Gaza, or when fresh tunnels are discovered. And we should designate Hamas as a terrorist organization in a resolution, with consequences for anyone who continues to support it,” Haley said.
UN Ambasador Nikki Haley visits Kibbutz Misgav Am located on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon on June 8, 2017 Credit: Gil Shimon/US Embassy Tel Aviv
She also condemned Friday’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem in which Border Police St.-Sgt.-Maj. Hadas Malka, 23, was killed. She was joined in that condemnation by a number of countries including the United Kingdom, France, the Ukraine and Japan.
British Deputy Ambassador to the UN Peter Wilson joined Haley in taking a strong stance against Hamas, calling on the group to renounce violence and dismantle network of tunnels it has built to attack Israel’s southern border.
“We call on all sides to turn 2017 not just into another anniversary of occupation but a new anniversary of peace,” Wilson said.
Italy said it was time for the Palestinian Authority to regain control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza in 2007 in a bloody coup.
But many of the speakers blamed Israel, particularly continued settlement activity, for the conflict with the Palestinians.
Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul- Gheit said that the Six Day War was the cause of Middle East violence and terrorism.
After the meeting, Bolivian Ambassador to the UN Sacha Sergio Llorenty Soliz said that Israel has violated Palestinian human rights, committed war crimes and flagrantly violated UN resolutions.
“The international community has failed the Palestinian people. We are not able to uphold the resolutions that we adopted. We are not even implementing the resolution [on statements] that was adopted a few months ago by the Security Council,” Llorenty said.
“We will continent trying to be a voice in the Security Council for Palestinian inalienable rights,” said Llorenty.
His country holds the presidency of the Security Council this month, but he clarified that he made his remarks as the representative of Bolivia.