Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, has called on the UN Security Council to condemn the horrific terror attack Friday night that left three family members dead and a fourth gravely wounded as they sat at the Sabbath table celebrating the birth of a new grandson.
“The hateful incitement and glorification of violence by the Palestinian Authority has led to the murder of innocent Israelis, stabbed to death in their home,” Danon said.
“The Security Council must immediately condemn this despicable terror attack. The international community must demand that Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority put an end to these heinous attacks and stop their ongoing encouragement of violence,” the Ambassador said.
But Abbas has not only done nothing to end terror emanating from the Palestinian Authority, he has elected to freeze all contact with Israel at “all levels” in response to the decision to increase security at the Temple Mount with new metal detectors following the murder of two police officers in a terrorist attack there a week ago Friday.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement condemning the attack:
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns this evening’s stabbing attack by a Palestinian perpetrator, which resulted in the death of three members of an Israeli family in the Halamish settlement in the occupied West Bank. He conveys his condolences to the bereaved and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured,” the statement read.
“The Secretary-General again calls on all to refrain from any actions or words that could further escalate an already volatile situation,” it concluded, once again underling the moral equivalence meted out to victim and perpetrator.
Nickolay E. Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, tweeted a reference to the condemnation by Guterres, and added, “Nothing justifies terror.”
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has scheduled a meeting on Monday to “urgently discuss how calls for de-escalation in Jerusalem can be supported,” in response to requests by Sweden, Egypt and France.