Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, shredded a copy of the United Nations Charter at the General Assembly in protest over a vote to give additional rights to Palestine. 

The Israeli envoy's dramatic act came prior to the UN General Assembly's overwhelming vote of 143 to 9 in favour of a resolution urging the Security Council to grant full membership to Palestine, which currently holds "observer" status.

India supported the resolution, while 25 countries abstained from voting. Nine nations, including the United States and Israel, opposed the resolution.

Calling the resolution a "clear violation" of the UN Charter, Erdan said that it subverted the US veto in the Security Council last month. He further said that he is "holding up the mirror" for the member states while shredding the UN Charter.

"This day will go down in infamy. I want the entire world to remember this moment, this immoral act...today I want to hold up a mirror for you, so you can see exactly what you are inflicting upon the UN Charter with this destructive vote. You are shredding the UN Charter with your own hands," he said.

A video of Erdan using a miniature shredder to destroy a copy of the charter, the foundational treaty of the United Nations, has gone viral.

The resolution affirmed that “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” as per Article 4 of the UN Charter and "should therefore be admitted to membership in the United Nations".

The Israeli envoy further alleged that the resolution passed to grant full membership to Palestine opens up the UN for "modern-day Nazis" referring to Hamas.

"Today, you are also about to grant privileges and write to the future terror state of Hamas. You have opened up the United Nations for modern-day Nazis, to the Hitler of our times...So here it is. I present to you the future outcome of today's vote...the soon-to-be President, Yahya Sinwar, President tyrant of the State of Hamas, sponsored by the UN, and he owes his deepest gratitude to you, the General Assembly," the Israeli envoy added while holding up an image of Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also denounced the adoption of the resolution, describing it as an "absurd decision" that underscores "the structural bias of the UN" and rewards the actions of Hamas, as reported by CNN on October 7.

"The message that the UN is sending to our suffering region: violence pays off. The decision to upgrade the status of Palestinians in the UN is a prize for Hamas terrorists after they committed the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,' he said.

Meanwhile, Palestine's ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, called the vote "historic" and "significant".

According to the UN document, for a draft resolution to be adopted, the UNSC must receive the approval of at least nine of its members, with none of its permanent members—China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US—using their veto power.

The development comes as Israel appeared poised to mount a large-scale invasion of the southern city of Rafah. Israel has said that Rafah was the last stronghold of the Hamas militant group.

The death toll in the Israel-Gaza war, which broke out in October 2023, has soared to more than 34,500 people, most of them women and children, according to local health officials, reported AP.

Image source: AFP