Danon: Kuwait’s call for international force to protect Gazans ‘shameful'

Published: MAY 18, 2018 11:06

Updated: MAY 18, 2018 16:39

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon speaks at the UNGA (photo credit: Courtesy) — Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon speaks at the UNGA

(photo credit: Courtesy)

"The cynicism and attempts to distort reality have reached a new low."

NEW YORK - Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon issued a stern rebuke of Kuwait on Friday after the oil-rich Arab nation circulated a draft resolution calling for an international force to be deployed to Gaza in order to protect Palestinian civilians from Israel.

In a strongly worded statement released just before Friday morning, Danon called the proposed measure “shameful” and decried the move as a helping hand to the Palestinian terror organization Hamas.

"The cynicism and attempts to distort reality have reached a new low. Israel will continue to defend its sovereignty and the security of its citizens against the terror and murderous violence of Hamas," said Danon.

"This shameful draft resolution is a proposal to support Hamas's war crimes against Israel and the residents of Gaza who are being sent to die for the sake of preserving Hamas's rule," he added.

Earlier this week, Kuwait’s UN Ambassador Mansour Otaibi said he would call for a multilateral force to be deployed in Gaza for the “protection of Palestinian civilians,” though he added “we’re not talking about peacekeeping.”

That promise was fulfilled on Thursday evening after Otaibi distributed the draft resolution to each country on the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

The move came just days after an emergency meeting of the UNSC was convened to discuss an outbreak of deadly riots on the Gaza-Israel border that left 60 dead and more than 1,700 wounded.

The US blocked on Monday a Kuwait-drafted council statement that would have expressed “outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians” and called for an independent and transparent investigation, diplomats said.

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The council met after the bloodiest day for Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza war, while only miles away the United States opened its new embassy in Jerusalem.

Reuters contributed to this report.