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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Envoy blames Hamas for war, says Israel not committing genocide

Envoy blames Hamas for war, says Israel not committing genocide

Published Nov 28, 2023 08:42 am

Israel's ambassador to the Philippines on Tuesday, Nov. 28, blamed Hamas for the destruction of Gaza and the loss of lives of the Palestinian civilians as he also rejected claims that Israel's actions against Hamas militants constitute "genocide."

Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss said it is the Hamas militants that are responsible for what is happening to the Gazan people as they constitute the elected government.

The death toll in Gaza has reached nearly 15,000, according to the Health Ministry of Gaza, and the amount of destruction is immense after Israel responded to the surprise attack launched by Hamas on the Jewish state on Oct. 7.

Amid questions of what is still left for the people of Gaza after the bombardments the territory has already suffered, Fluss said Hamas is the one that must be asked about that.

"So I think these questions have to be addressed, actually, to the Hamas maybe to Iran, to the Palestinian Authority—how can they put in order what's happening in Gaza in order to allow Israel to sit back and to say, okay, our safety is being taken care of, we can end this war," Fluss said in an interview with ANC.

"But nobody is doing it. And this is why we have to do it," he added.

Fluss also opposed what many others from across the world are saying, that Israel is committing genocide.

"I'm shocked when I read, and I see some of those people are using this word, you have to understand what is genocide, it is a legal term," he said.

Fluss said it is the Hamas that is committing genocide and that Israel has no desire to murder Palestinians.

"The Jews and the Israelis are moral people that are standing for moral values. We are contributing to the world in many, many ways," he added, referring to the effort to eradicate Hamas, which is tagged by Israel and other nations as a terrorist organization.

Both sides agreed to cease fighting and release hostages and prisoners.

But Fuss refused to call it a humanitarian truce. He only called it a "pause" in fighting.

He said Israel's original goal when it launched a war with Hamas will remain.

"One of the two goals of this war is the return of the hostages. The other one is to make sure Hamas cannot attack Israel ever again," he said.

Related Tags

genocide Ilan Fluss Gaza Israel-Hamas war
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