Operation prompts outrage as Israeli PM criticises western countries for recognising Palestine as a state and pledges to continue war
Operation prompts outrage as Israeli PM criticises western countries for recognising Palestine as a state and pledges to continue war
Israeli military loudspeaker systems have broadcast Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the UN into Gaza in an unprecedented operation that immediately prompted controversy and outrage.
In a statement on Friday, an Israeli government spokesperson said: “As part of the public diplomacy effort, the prime minister’s office has directed civilian elements, in cooperation with the [Israel Defense Forces], to place loudspeakers on the backs of trucks on the Israeli side of the Gaza border so that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s historic UN general assembly speech will be heard in the Gaza Strip.”
In addition to the speaker systems, Netanyahu’s office claimed that the Israeli military had taken control of the telephones of Gaza residents “and Hamas members” to broadcast the speech – though there was no evidence from within the devastated Palestinian territory this actually took place.
“The prime minister has appealed to the residents of Gaza and made it clear that the war could end immediately upon the return of the hostages, the disarming of Hamas and the demilitarisation of the Strip … [and] stressed that whoever does so will live while those who do not will be hunted,” the government statement said.
