Is the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process subjected to Zionist pressures due to his residence in Jerusalem, or is he providing free services to the occupying entity?!
A question raised in political circles after every statement he makes, every report he submits to the UN Secretariat, every briefing he gives to the Security Council, or...
Anyone who reads the briefing provided by Mr. Tor Wennesland to the Security Council about the situation in the Middle East two days ago (August 22, 2024) attentively, will notice that he carefully chose his words to avoid using any term that might anger Israeli leaders! In fact, some of his statements adopted the perspective of the occupying force, as if he is seeking to appease it!
In order not to be accused of unfairly targeting a senior UN official, or of attacking the UN itself, which is not respected by the leaders of the Zionist enemy and is ridiculed by them, I will provide compelling evidence for what I have mentioned earlier, drawn from the briefing itself. Among the most notable points are:
Firstly: Mr. Tor used the word 'terrorism' in his briefing only twice; the first time to accuse the Palestinian resistance, which is striving to liberate its occupied land, saying: "the horrific acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023".
As for the genocide war, brutal massacres, and deliberate savage destruction in Gaza (with over forty thousand martyrs, nearly a hundred thousand injured, not to mention the thousands of martyrs still under the rubble, and tens of thousands of prisoners and detainees, some of whom have been executed after their arrest, and the destruction for the most of Gaza...), all these are referred to as 'incidents'! He says: "In Gaza, incidents of mass civilian casualties, airstrikes by Israel on schools and mosques sheltering the displaced, and the wanton destruction of civilian infrastructure are fueling suffering and violence".
The second time he used the word 'terrorism' was in the context of alluding to the Palestinian resistance, linking it to the term 'violence,' which was timidly implied to refer to 'Israel.' He suggested that stopping [Israeli] violence would be sufficient to remove the justifications for [Palestinian] terrorism, saying: "if we are to prevent yet another spiraling escalation, the violence must end – there are no justifications for acts of terror".
Secondly: In the context of his speech about the West Bank, Mr. Tor refers to the repeated invasions by the enemy's army into occupied Palestinian towns and villages, the killing of hundreds of Palestinians, and the arrest of thousands of them in the past ten months, along with the ongoing demolition of homes, as 'Israeli security operations.' He calls for 'reducing Israeli violence,' rather than stopping or ending it, saying: "Violence in the occupied West Bank needs to be significantly reduced, including violence taking place in the context of scaled-up Israeli security operations".
Thirdly: Mr. Tor provided a justification for the enemy's army regarding the bombing of schools and other shelters, and the committing of massacres, particularly the horrifying massacre resulting from the bombing of the 'Attabiheen' school east of Gaza, saying: "Civilian objects, including infrastructure, and UN premises, are also reportedly being used to shield fighters and military objectives, endangering the lives of civilians around them".
Fourthly: Mr. Tor overlooks the right of peoples to struggle and resist in order to free themselves from occupation, based on dozens of resolutions issued by the United Nations General Assembly supporting national liberation movements in their struggle for independence and self-determination, including armed struggle. In his statements, he implies, in contradiction to the contents of these international resolutions, the legitimacy of the occupying forces and depriving the Palestinian people from this right.
When he talks about the occupying army, he says: "Israeli security forces continue to carry out large-scale operations in Area A, including targeting Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other armed groups in densely populated refugee camps... These operations often result in lethal exchanges with these groups in addition to the killing or injury of bystanders".
Meanwhile, he says about the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank: "Fatal attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel have continued…".
Fifthly: According to Mr. Tor, the aggression and brutality of Zionist settlers during their invasions of Palestinian towns, villages, and neighborhoods in the West Bank and Jerusalem are merely violent attacks by settlers that amount to crimes (felonies), the recurrence of which is due to the lack of legal accountability for the perpetrators. He says: "The Israeli settler rampage in the Palestinian village of Jit near Nablus that killed one Palestinian and critically injured others on 15 August was yet another illustration of the violent consequences of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and the persistent lack of accountability for such crimes".
Sixthly: Mr. Tor did not succeed in his comparing between the threat of resistance on one hand and the invasions of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards on the other. He suggested that the threat is incitement, while the invasions are provocative actions. He said: "Inflammatory rhetoric and provocative acts are further enflaming the situation. In recent days we have seen Hamas threaten to launch a new campaign of suicide bombings. We have also seen two Israeli ministers, alongside hundreds of Israelis, visit the holy esplanade on the Jewish holiday...".
Seventhly: Mr. Tor equated the killer with the victim in his comparison between the Palestinian people whose land is occupied and the occupying entity that is based on killing and massacres, when he said: "It is imperative that we establish a comprehensive political framework that is accepted by the Palestinian population and addresses their legitimate aspirations and grievances, while also addressing Israel’s legitimate security concerns".
Eighthly: Mr. Tor's neglicance in his briefing to the Security Council of the clear violations by the enemy’s army, including targeting UNRWA buildings and institutions, bombing UN centers and headquarters, using them as military bases for his forces, and not holding the enemy’s leaders and army accountable for genocide and massacres against children, women, and civilians in Gaza, among other documented war crimes... reveals a clear bias towards the Israeli side.
From the perspective of concern for the distorted image of the United Nations due to the American dominance and Zionist bullying of its institutions, and the injustice towards the Palestinian people over eight decades or more, we call on the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Mr. Tor Wennesland, to embrace transparency and align with truth and justice. He should avoid accusing the Palestinian people and their resistance of terrorism, as this is a grave injustice by a high-ranking UN official towards the lives of tens of thousands of children, women, and civilians whose blood has been shed on the occupied land of Palestine, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank, during this unprecedented brutal war.
Ihsan Ataya
Head of the Department of Arab and International Relations
Member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine