Published 8 minutes ago
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Iceland's Foreign Minister has responded to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 'morally cowardly' statement in the UN General Assembly.
Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir told the UN General Assembly on September 27, without naming Netanyahu, that 'morally cowards are those who refuse to negotiate for a just and lasting peace.'
During Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, representatives of many countries walked out of the hall.
On this, Netanyahu had said that if there is still any 'morally coward' left in this hall, then he can go out.
What did Iceland's Foreign Minister say?
"We have heard words like 'morally cowardly' coming from this forum," said Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Iceland's foreign minister. For me, moral cowards are those who refuse to negotiate for a just and lasting peace.
"Those who block humanitarian aid from reaching those in greatest need are moral cowards," he said. Those world leaders are moral cowards who repeatedly disregard and disrespect international law.
“The suffering of Palestinian citizens cannot be allowed to become a background noise,” he said. Children are still being killed. “Families are still losing their homes and parents are trying again and again to keep their children alive.”
“We do not accept that Gaza should be repeatedly destroyed and then rebuilt, while the root cause has still not been resolved.”
Skip to Most Read Skip to content
most read
finished
He said, illegal settlements continue to expand in the West Bank. Palestinian citizens often face violence from settlers. "It is fueled by impunity, inflammatory rhetoric and policies that do not show sufficient force to stop it."
'Our objective is clear. A sustainable Palestinian state with Israel, where both communities can live in security, dignity and peace.
skip ahead podcast
Dinbhar: Same voice, new style
Big news from the country and the world that made headlines.
episode
finished
"We must not let the horrific events in Ukraine and the Middle East cause us to ignore other crises," he said.
“Sovereignty is sacred,” he said. Unless another country's territory comes in the way of our ambitions. We cannot create courts. Praise our enemies when they act against them and try to weaken them when they turn their attention to our friends.
"When serious violations are not addressed, they are more likely to be repeated." And for small countries it is not just a question of principle but of survival.
“Russia's brutal war against Ukraine is a clear example of this. "Russia attacked a sovereign neighboring country with the aim of forcefully changing its borders and depriving the other nation of the freedom to decide its own future."
“The price that the people of Ukraine have paid cannot be imagined.”
'Behind every destroyed house is a family. Behind every dead person is someone whom someone loved.
“Iceland’s position is clear,” he said. “Ukraine has the right to defend itself, protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and achieve a just and lasting peace, in accordance with international law.”
“Our support for Ukraine protects the principles on which the security of all our nations depends. No country can decide the future of any other country.
what did netanyahu say
On September 24, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the United Nations General Assembly to deliver a speech, representatives of many countries walked out of the hall.
On this he called those representatives 'morally cowards'.
Netanyahu rejected Israel's allegations of genocide in Gaza and accused critics of spreading "lies". He defended Israel's action against Hamas.
He rejected criticism of settler violence in Palestinian territories, calling it a distorted picture in the international debate against Israel.
Binyamin Netanyahu said that France and Britain are criticizing Israel. But the truth is that these countries have been the source of concepts like colonialism.
Netanyahu reiterated his demand for Hamas to release the hostages and said that the way to end the war goes through the release of hostages and dismantling of Hamas's military structure.
Netanyahu also targeted New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He had said that Mamdani was trying to silence him, but he could not do so. Mamdani had strongly criticized Netanyahu's Gaza policy and called him a war criminal.
He also strongly criticized Qatar. He alleged that Qatar tried to instill hatred towards Israel, America and the West among the youth by spending billions of dollars on American universities and Al-Jazeera.
Describing the attack on Iran, he said that attacking Iran's nuclear plants was difficult, but it was one of the "easiest decisions" for him as Prime Minister. He claimed that if this had not been done, "we would all have been killed."
