Jerusalem [Israel], March 13 (ANI): Israeli leaders have strongly condemned a United Nations report accusing Israel of committing 'genocidal acts' in Gaza, denouncing it as a 'blood libel' that distorts the truth, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The report, which alleges that Israel systematically destroyed women's healthcare facilities and used sexual violence as a weapon of war, has been met with outrage from Israeli officials, who argue that it ignores the crimes committed by Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the findings, calling the UN Human Rights Council an 'anti-Semitic, corrupt, pro-terror, and irrelevant body.' In a statement on Thursday, he emphasised that Israel withdrew from the council a month ago due to its biased conduct. 'Instead of focusing on the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the terrorist organisation Hamas in the most severe massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, the UN once again chooses to attack the State of Israel with false accusations, including baseless claims of sexual violence,' he stated. 'This is not a Human Rights Council - it is a Blood Rights Council.'

Israeli lawmakers also condemned the report, expressing deep frustration over what they see as a distortion of reality. National Unity Chairman MK Benny Gantz responded while travelling from Kibbutz Re'im to Be'eri, two locations devastated by Hamas on October 7. 'Reading the main points of the disgraceful UN report on my way from Kibbutz Re'im to Be'eri - where adults, women, and children were massacred, raped, and kidnapped,' he wrote on X. 'This report is a moral low and an unforgivable blindness. Those who wrote and signed the report are not only lying, but they are also harming global security and giving support to terrorism, antisemitism, and blood libels.'

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused the UN of serving as a propaganda tool for Hamas. 'It was HAMAS that attacked, raped, and murdered Israelis. This is recorded. It is HAMAS that uses sexual violence against hostages,' he posted on X.

'The UN has turned right into wrong, good into bad.' Likud MK Dan Illouz echoed similar sentiments, calling the report a 'disgraceful fabrication' and a 'blood libel masquerading as a human rights document.'

He stated, 'The UN's so-called 'Commission of Inquiry' has once again proven itself to be nothing more than a propaganda arm for Hamas, spewing vile, baseless accusations to demonise Israel. While Israeli women were raped and brutalised on October 7--crimes documented with overwhelming evidence--this corrupt body remained silent. Now, they dare to invert reality, spreading monstrous lies to justify Hamas terrorism. This is not an inquiry; it is incitement. The UN has lost all moral legitimacy, and history will remember its complicity in this perversion of truth.'

Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Chair of the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children, criticised the report's conclusions, arguing that it equates Israel with Hamas. 'Unfortunately, this is the same dynamic we have seen since October 7--the day of the massacre--an attempt to put Israel on the same moral equivalent as Hamas,' she said, as per the Jerusalem Post.

'The Civil Commission has been documenting the sexual atrocities committed on October 7, and we have seen efforts to create a false comparison between Israel and Hamas, especially in the context of sexual violence. Sadly, this pattern has repeated itself across various UN bodies since October 7. This moral comparison is painful and wrong because its purpose is to establish false historical narratives and inflict irreparable harm both on the victims and on justice.'

She further stressed the need for accountability and the preservation of truth. 'We have always believed in international institutions and the human rights system, but such conduct, which seeks to entrench false historical narratives, must end. We owe the truth to the victims, whose suffering must not be erased or distorted by false narratives, and to the pursuit of justice, ensuring that atrocities are acknowledged and accountability is upheld.'

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) also released a statement rejecting the report, calling it 'one of the worst cases of blood libel the world has ever seen (and the world has seen many).'

The statement accused the UN of attempting to shift blame onto Israel while ignoring Hamas's crimes. 'Hamas is the organisation that has committed horrendous sexual crimes against Israelis. It is indeed a sick document that only an anti-Semitic organisation such as the UN could produce,' the statement read.

https://x.com/IsraelMFA/status/1900131384439566654

Israeli officials continue to push back against what they see as a biased and dangerous misrepresentation of the conflict, urging the international community to recognise the true perpetrators of war crimes in Gaza. (ANI)