Speaking at the United Nations Security Council’s periodic Middle East Debate, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said, “As oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation.”

Responding to the Secretary-General’s comments, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying “The UN secretary general’s comments give terror a tailwind. There is no justification for terror. The Palestinian murders do not want to build a country – they want to destroy a country, and say so openly. They want to murder Jews wherever they may be, and say so openly. They do not murder for peace and they do not murder for human rights.”

“As a steadfast ally and friend to Israel, Canada calls for all efforts to be made to reduce violence and incitement and to help build the conditions for a return to the negotiating table,” Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said in a statement.

“There have been numerous indications in the past that Israel’s defense and intelligence branches don’t share Netanyahu’s dire view of the Iran deal. However, [IDF Chief of Staff, Gadi] Eisenkot’s speech appears to be the first time the army’s contrary assessment has been presented formally in a public forum. In fact, the 45-minute speech as a whole can be read as a point-by-point refutation of Bibi-ism,” writes JJ Goldberg.

“By what right, by what authority does [Herzog] say the two-state solution is irrelevant? He’s the head of the damn Labor Party. He’s the…chairman of the opposition. He’s the head of the largest camp in Israel, which expects him to lead, or at least he’s supposed to be,” MK Hilik Bar said

In case you missed it, you can find FMEP’s critique of a recent speech by Herzog here.

“They embody a selfless struggle for justice and independence in Palestine, and expose the brutality and criminality of the continued military occupation, particularly in relation to the thousands of Palestinian men, women and children prisoners in Israeli jails,” said PLO Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi