Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday evening following his remarks against Israeli policy in Judea and Samaria during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“The UN Secretary-General’s wild incitement gives a tailwind to terrorism,” Smotrich wrote on X. “He is endangering the lives of half a million Jewish Israeli citizens living in Judea and Samaria.”
Smotrich continued his criticism of Guterres, citing UNRWA’s activities: “Someone who heads the organization that funded and provided cover for UNRWA – the operational arm of the Hamas terrorist organization in the October 7 massacre – cannot preach to us about anything.”
AFSI Insight
Smotrich’s rebuke of UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlights a fundamental problem with the UN’s approach to Israel: its repeated focus on condemning Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria while failing to adequately confront the terrorism and incitement that threaten their residents. AFSI agrees that rhetoric from senior UN officials can have real-world consequences when it ignores Israel’s security concerns and legitimizes narratives that place blame primarily on Israel. The safety of the hundreds of thousands of Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria must be treated as a legitimate security priority—not as an obstacle to be removed