Israeli government exploited tragedy to wage 'devastating war of revenge,' peace activist tells UN

The Israeli government utilized the Oct. 7 attacks to launch a destructive campaign of vengeance across Palestinian territories, an Israeli peace campaigner told the UN Security Council on Monday.

"The Israeli government exploited these atrocities to wage a devastating war of revenge," said Maoz Inon, an Israeli peace activist who lost his parents in the attacks. "They have inflicted catastrophic destruction across Gaza, while accelerating ethnic cleansing, settlement expansion, and forced displacement in the West Bank."

Reflecting on personal tragedy, Inon emphasized that his family consciously rejected vengeance because retaliation "only feeds an endless cycle of trauma and bloodshed."

He criticized Israel for weaponizing public grief to justify military operations, arguing that profound loss must instead become "the catalyst to end the bloodshed."

Inon urged the 15-member council to translate international resolutions into tangible progress by providing robust incentives for grassroots reconciliation, maintaining that global leaders must "invest where it matters the most: peacemakers on the ground." He noted that while peace is a historical necessity, political breakthroughs falter when leadership lacks the "courage" to sustain dialogue.

"We are always only weeks away from choosing peace," he said, underlining examples from Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Rwanda.

- Palestinian activist warns of olive harvest violence, urges detainee access

Addressing council members, Palestinian peace activist Aziz Abu Sarah recalled growing up under military rule in the occupied West Bank, describing how his family fled to rooftops as occupiers set fire to neighborhood properties.

"My brother Taysir was detained and beaten to death by Israeli soldiers when I was 10," Abu Sarah said, stressing that such trauma "should not be normal for any child" and that peace requires refusing to view neighbors as perpetual adversaries.

Abu Sarah warned that Palestinian agricultural workers face heightened risks during the upcoming seasonal harvest, urging the Security Council to apply "maximum pressure" to shield farmers from violent assaults by occupiers.

He called on Israeli authorities to respect High Court rulings granting the International Committee of the Red Cross access to detainees, pointing out that Israel holds more than 9,000 Palestinians, including over 370 children, with at least 93 deaths recorded in custody since late 2023.

- UN envoy warns E1 plan presents existential threat to 2-state horizon

Delivering the UN secretary-general's 39th assessment regarding Resolution 2334, acting UN Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov warned that the ongoing "creeping annexation" of occupation outposts constitutes "flagrant violations of international law" with no legal standing.

Ramiz Alakbarov noted that Israeli authorities published construction tenders for nearly 2,240 units in Area C of the occupied West Bank, including 1,234 homes designated for the strategic E1 zone near Jerusalem. He termed the E1 project an "existential threat" to a viable Palestinian state, noting that authorities executed the first formal expropriation of Area A land for occupation infrastructure.

The UN envoy voiced alarm over forced displacement, noting that sustained violence by occupiers completely emptied three Palestinian villages during the three-month reporting period, bringing the total number of depopulated rural localities to 49 since January 2023.

He highlighted that more than 33,000 residents from refugee camps across Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams remain displaced, cautioning that repeated mass expulsions raise serious concerns regarding deliberate "ethnic cleansing" across the occupied territory.