Portuguese UN Chief denounces '50 years of Israeli occupation' on Six Day War anniversary

Mr Guterres is a Portuguese Socialist politician and diplomat.  Portugal has a long history of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.  In 1975,  Portugal was the only Western European country to vote in favour of the infamous United Nations Resolution 3379 (revoked in 1991) which equated Zionism – the self-determination of the Jewish people - with racism. It is ironic that such malevolence came after the Holocaust and in the aftermath of the revolution which enabled the Portuguese people to shed four decades of the harsh dictatorial regime led by Salazar. Having regained freedom and dignity, the progressive regime in place riding on the anti-Zionist tide turned against Jews and their democratic State.  Portugal is one of the poorest countries in Western Europe.  "Portugal has the highest emigration rate as a proportion of population in the European Union. More than two million Portuguese people (20% of the population) now live outside the country. Historically Portugal would rank as the nation with the highest unemployment rate in both Europe and EU given their large emigration rates as labor outflows contribute to the weight of unemployment."  Nonetheless it believes it is its duty to condemn Israel.

Via The Jerusalem Post:

Antonio Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres did not mince words in his critique of Israel as it marks fifty years since it reunified Jerusalem in the Six Day War. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the five-decades-long Israeli occupation has imposed a "heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people" and "fueled recurring cycles of violence and retribution." 

The UN chief expressed his concerns regarding the prospects for regional peace in the Middle East in a statement released Monday, as Israel marks 50 years since it won the Six Day War in which it reunited Jerusalem.   According to Guterres, the perpetuation of the occupation is also sending “an unmistakable message to generations of Palestinians that their dream of statehood is destined to remain just that, a dream; and to Israelis that their desire for peace, security and regional recognition remains unattainable.” (...) 

The secretary-general also said he believes that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will “remove a driver of violent extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and open the doors to cooperation, security, prosperity and human rights for all.” 

In response to the secretary-general's comments, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said, “The attacks on Israel by our neighbors did not begin in 1967 and any attempt at a moral equivalency between killing innocent people and the building of homes is absurd.  Instead of spreading Palestinian misinformation, it would be best if the UN stuck with the facts. 

"It is preposterous to blame terror and violence in the Middle East on the one true democracy in the region.   

"The moment the Palestinian leadership abandons terror, ceases to incite against our people and finally returns to direct negotiations, then real progress can be made towards peace."

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