Criticism of Guterres

UN chief sees himself as a “victim of propaganda”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has rejected the ongoing criticism of the United Nations in connection with the war between Israel and the radical Islamic group Hamas. He himself had "become a victim of propaganda" in recent weeks.

Guterres was referring to the reactions to his controversial statement that Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 "did not take place in a vacuum". "My statement was distorted to give the impression that I was a supporter of Hamas or that I was justifying Hamas' actions, although I had said exactly the opposite," the UN Secretary-General told Die Zeit.

He knows how arousal mechanisms work. "In recent weeks, I have become a victim of propaganda."

Guterres feels unfairly treated
In his statement on the Hamas attack, he pointed out that nothing happens "in a vacuum", that the Palestinian population has experienced a great deal of suffering and that none of this justifies "the barbaric attack by Hamas", Guterres emphasized. The last part of his statement had been forgotten.

Listen to Guterres' remarks at the time:

In the interview, the UN Secretary-General also commented on the alleged links between employees of the United Nations Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and Hamas. The United Nations has "zero tolerance with regard to any infiltration of UNRWA by Hamas" and immediately dismissed the employees in question following the latest allegations, he emphasized.

Serious allegations against UNRWA
At the end of January, serious allegations were made against UNRWA: Twelve employees are suspected of having been involved in Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel. In response to the allegations, numerous countries, including Austria, Germany and the USA, stopped their payments to the aid organization.

We are not responsible for tunnels under our buildings.

António Guterres

At the weekend, the Israeli military also reported the discovery of a Hamas tunnel under the UNRWA headquarters in the city of Gaza. Guterres said in an interview with "Die Zeit": "We are not responsible for tunnels under our buildings". There is a network of tunnels throughout the Gaza Strip. "So nowhere in Gaza can you be sure that there is no tunnel," Guterres added.

He referred to the danger for UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip. 156 of them had been killed in recent weeks. "No other organization has so many people in Gaza who are prepared to die in the course of their work." Guterres says: "I think we also deserve some respect."