“Hamas is no different than ISIS, Al Qaeda…”: Israel envoy Gilad Erdan at UN

New York [US]: Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Gilad Erdan in response to the deadly Hamas attack, said that “Hamas is a genocidal Islamist jihadist terror organization. It is no different than ISIS, Al Qaeda” adding that, they do not want dialogue and wants only the annihilation of the Jewish state.

“Hamas is a genocidal Islamist jihadist terror organization. It is no different than ISIS. It is no different than Al-Qaeda. There is no reasoning with genocidal jihadists. They do not want dialogue. They do not want conversation. They want one thing and one thing only the annihilation of the Jewish state,” he said.

Speaking about the genocidal charter of Hamas, he said, “This is a direct quote from their charter. The day of judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. This is the Hamas charter, And it also says that whenever a Muslim encounters a Jew, he must butcher him. That’s the Hamas charter internalizes this. They want to butcher me. They want to butcher my children, my people, and my nation. They will not stop until they murder every single one of us.”

Moreover, Israel’s representative to the UN further condemned the attack and highlighted the failure of Israeli intelligence and said that this was Israel’s 9/11 and that the country would do everything to bring its people back home.

“This is Israel’s 9/11 and Israel will do everything to bring our sons and daughters back home,” he stated.

Erdan later noted that although today, the international community is supporting Israel, it might not be the case tomorrow and said that this time, “We will not let the world forget the atrocities our country suffered.”

“Today, many members of the international community are supporting Israel. But if history has taught us anything, we know that tomorrow that may not be the case. The international community, and particularly the UN and the Security Council, have a very short memory when it comes to Israel. The terror that we endure quickly becomes a side note. But this time will not be the same. And this is precisely why. This atrocity is Israel’s 9/11,” he said on Monday.

Furthermore, he promised that the situation will be not as it was earlier, highlighting that, “Today we are shattering the paradigm. We are changing the equation.”

For 17 years, since Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, and since Hamas came to power, the world has tried to reason with these terrorists, barbaric terrorists, he added.

Moreover, Erdan highlighted that the funds provided by the international community to rehabilitate Gaza were used only for terror activities, and said that the funds were not used for building schools or hospitals.

“The international community sought to rehabilitate Gaza, giving tens of billions of dollars in aid. These funds did not go to building schools or hospitals. It was exploited only for terror. Every inch of Gaza has become part of Hamas’ war machine, a war machine, and you know it. Money is fungible. It enters Gaza, and then it goes straight to building terror tunnels, rocket launch pads, missile manufacturing sites, and other terror infrastructure,” Erdan said.

The Israeli representative added that these economic incentives cannot change the genocidal ideology of Hamas, as it did not work with ISI or Al-Qaeda, similarly, it would not work with Hamas.

“Economic incentives cannot change genocidal ideology. It couldn’t have worked with ISIS, it couldn’t have worked with Al Qaeda, and it doesn’t work with Hamas. The era of reasoning with these savages is over. Now is the time for Hamas’s terror infrastructure to be completely erased so that such horrors are never committed again,” he added.

He further asked the international community to extend full support to Israel as this war is not just on Israel but on the “free world.”

“The international community must give Israel its full support…Israel may be under attack today, but this is not only a war against or on Israel. This is a war on the free world. It is a war on civilization. Israel is at the forefront of the war on terror, and if we do not succeed, the whole world will pay the price. As the Security Council prepares to meet today, Israel has one sole demand Hamas’s war crimes must be unequivocally condemned. This unimaginable atrocity must be condemned. Israel must be given steadfast support to defend ourselves, to defend the free world,” he said.

Erdan stressed that Israel will not accept any false, immoral comparisons between a savage terror group that targets innocent and the democratic state of Israel. “This is not a comparison that the UN or the Security Council can do. There is no reconciling with genocidal terrorists. Israel will exact a heavy price on Hamas so that what we witnessed will never repeat itself,” he added.

Emphasizing that Israelis are resilient people and have also faced hardships in the past, Erdan said, “In the wake of the Holocaust, the world swore never again. This very body, the UN, was established on the ashes of the Holocaust.

Yet yesterday we watched as hundreds of Jews were massacred in cold blood. This is a never-again moment. We are resilient people, and we have faced hardships in the past. We have always overcome our challenges, and today will be no different. Israel will fight back, and Israel will prevail.”

The Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Saturday by firing thousands of rockets, which killed over 700 people, according to The Times of Israel.

Earlier, in retaliation, the Israel Air Force launched a very powerful and lethal air strike in the Gaza Strip with dozens of fighter jets attacking the areas used by Hamas terrorists.

On October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Hamas, claiming that it had begun a terrible war and that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) would use all of its strength to undermine its capacity.