News / Palestine
UN official in Gaza regrets remarks, says no justification for Israeli killing of civilians
Monday, 31 May 2021 5:49 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 31 May 2021 11:09 AM ]
A United Nations official in Gaza has tendered an apology for his remarks that the recent Israeli airstrikes on the besieged strip appeared to have been carried out with “sophistication” and “precision”.
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) director Matthias Schmale had made the controversial remarks to Israel's Channel 12 on Sunday.
“I am not a military expert, but I also have the impression that there is a huge sophistication in the way that the Israeli military strikes struck over the last 11 days,” he was quoted as saying. “Yes, they didn't hit, with some exceptions, civilian targets, but the viciousness, the ferocity of those strikes was heavily felt.”
Schmale hastened to add that the “precision was there but there was unacceptable and unbearable loss of life on the civilian side.”
His remarks were vehemently denounced by Palestinian rights groups, as well as regional countries.
Stung by the growing criticism, the UN official later apologized for his comments.
“I deeply regret that my comments about the precision of IDF strikes are being misused to justify what cannot be justified,” he said on Twitter. “Killing children breaks the rules of war and must be independently investigated. There must not be impunity!”
Responding to a news report on Twitter, quoting his remarks, Schmale termed it “manipulative”.
“My issue is that the precise strikes of the sophisticated army killed more than 200 civilians including 20 children that went to UNRWA schools. This is unacceptable and cannot be white washed!” he wrote.
Quoting me like this is, @i24NEWS_EN, is manipulative. My issue is that the precise strikes of the sophisticated army killed more than 200 civilians including 20 children that went to UNRWA schools. This is unacceptable and cannot be white washed! https://t.co/fDi3ajY3h7
— Matthias Schmale (@matzschmale) May 25, 2021
In another tweet, the UN official said he did not say the Israeli forces operated “within the laws of war.”
“Killing more than 200 civilians including innocent women & children is NOT acting within laws of war. There must be independent investigation & accountability for those actions,” he remarked.
This is blatant manipulation of my interview, I did NOT say the IDF operated within the laws of war. Killing more than 200 civilians including innocent women & children is NOT acting within laws of war. There must be independent investigation & accountability for those actions https://t.co/xQTxp0TB0P
— Matthias Schmale (@matzschmale) May 26, 2021
In a series of tweets, Schmale regretted hurting “those who had family members and friends killed and injured” during the 11-day aggression by the Israeli regime.
(1-8) Recent remarks I made on Israeli TV have offended & hurt those who had family members & friends killed & injured during the war that has just ended. I truly regret to have caused them pain, & reiterate following points I have made through countless interviews & tweets:
— Matthias Schmale (@matzschmale) May 25, 2021
“There is no justification whatsoever for killing civilians. Any civilian killed is one too many. It is simply unbearable that so many innocent people have paid with their lives,” he wrote, stressing that military precision and sophistication were “never a justification for war.”
“Many people were killed or have been severely injured by direct strikes or collateral damage from strikes. In a place as densely populated as Gaza, any strike will have huge damaging effects on people and buildings,” he added.
The UN official, recounting the horror of Israeli regime’s bombardment on the besieged territory, called it a “collective punishment of the civilian population”.
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