News / Palestine

Israeli official’s election to UN post 'whitewash' of regime's crimes: Hamas

Thursday, 01 June 2017 1:59 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 01 June 2017 2:24 PM ]

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon (Photo by AP)

Hamas has condemned the recent election of an Israeli to a position at the United Nations General Assembly, saying the move is part of attempts to whitewash Tel Aviv's crimes against Palestinians.

Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, was elected on Wednesday as vice president of the 72nd session of the General Assembly.

On Thursday, Hamas spokesman, Abdullatif al-Kanou, described Danon as a war criminal who has shed the blood of the Palestinians.

“Danon’s very hands are tainted with Palestinians’ blood as he had served as a deputy war minister and has been involved in crimes and carnage against the Palestinian people,” Kanou said.

This photo taken on August 6, 2014 shows a Palestinian man looking out over destruction in part of Gaza City's al-Tufah neighborhood following a deadly Israeli war. (Photo by AFP)

He also urged a firm response to such a “serious step” and appealed to all human rights and humanitarian organizations to pressure the UN to backtrack on its latest appointment.

Danon was elected to the position as a representative of the Western European and Others Group (WEOG). He will begin his one-year term in September with the opening of the General Assembly.

Danon served as Israeli deputy minister of military affairs between March 2013 and July 2014.

He was fired from his position after publicly criticizing Prime Minister Netanyahu's handling of the latest Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip. Danon had blasted what he called Israel’s restraint in the 2014 war on Gaza.

Tel Aviv has waged three wars on the coastal enclave since 2008, including the 2014 50-day offensive, which left more than 2,200 Palestinians dead.

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