Iceland Responds to Netanyahu: "Morally Cowardly" Violators of International Law

New York - Afaq News - The ascent of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the podium of the United Nations General Assembly in New York was met with a collective withdrawal of diplomats from international delegations, in a protest step that angered him and led him to attack the withdrawers, describing them as "morally cowardly."

The response from the UN platform itself was not delayed, as Iceland's Foreign Minister, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, sharply criticized world leaders who, according to her, refuse to negotiate for a just and lasting peace, prevent humanitarian aid from reaching those in need, and repeatedly violate or disregard international law.

Þórðarson stated that "the morally cowardly" are those leaders who refuse to sit at the negotiating table or obstruct aid from reaching civilians, warning that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East should not make other crises invisible.

Speaking about the Palestinian situation, the Icelandic minister emphasized that the suffering of Palestinian civilians cannot become "just background noise," pointing to the ongoing killing of children and families losing their homes, and the difficulties faced by parents trying to keep their children alive.

She also criticized the ongoing destruction of Gaza and its repeated reconstruction without addressing what she described as the "root causes" of the conflict, and referred to the West Bank, where she noted the continued colonial expansion and the violence Palestinians face at the hands of settlers, in light of what she described as impunity, incitement rhetoric, and policies that facilitate it.