UN refuses to withdraw its condemnation after Israeli onslaught against Jenin

Farhan Haq, the UN deputy spokesperson, said on Sunday that Secretary General Antonio Guterres conveyed his views on the Israeli onslaught on Jenin “and he stands by those views.”

Angered by the deadly Israeli air strikes and attack on the Jenin refugee camp, Guterres condemned on Thursday the acts of violence against Palestinian civilians and criticized the occupying regime for using excessive force.

Guterres also rebuked the Israeli regime for preventing the injured from receiving medical care and humanitarian workers from reaching those in need.

Asked whether Guterres’ condemnation applied to Israel, Haq replied, “It applies to all use of excessive force, and obviously in this situation, there was an excessive force used by Israeli forces.”

The UN deputy spokesperson stressed that Guterres “clearly condemns all of the violence that has been affecting the civilians in…the occupied Palestinian territories, regardless of who is the perpetrator.”

Israel launched the military campaign against Jenin in the early hours of Monday, mobilizing upwards of 1,000 troops as means of supposedly damaging the resistance “infrastructure” in the city and the refugee camp that it hosts.

At least 12 Palestinians and one Israeli trooper died as a result of the conflict, during which a steadfast Palestinian resistance response prompted the regime to pull out its forces after less than two days.

Israeli troops finally pulled back from Jenin on Tuesday evening following a 44-hour-long incursion.