‘Hamas is not a terrorist group,’ according to UN’s Martin Griffiths
UN relief chief Martin Griffiths told a representative from Sky News on Wednesday that he did not consider Hamas to be a terrorist group.
Asked about the feasibility of Israel’s military goal to eliminate Hamas and disallow the terrorist group from having any governing say in Gaza, Griffiths responded “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us, as you know, it is a political movement. But, I think it is very very difficult to dislodge these groups without a negotiated solution; which includes their aspirations.
“I cannot think of an example offhand of a place where a victory through warfare has succeeded against a well-entrenched group, terrorist or otherwise.”
Speaking of Hamas’s October 7 attack, Griffiths said he had “total understanding” of the “trauma” it had caused Israel but that Israel would need to build a relationship with its neighbors regardless.
Griffiths also claimed that the United Nations was struggling to get aid into Gaza and that Palestinians had nowhere safe to evacuate to now that Israel had begun operations in Rafah.
During the interview, Griffiths insisted that pondering whether Israel would operate in Rafah was an issue that kept him up at night.
Asked if he was in discussions with Israeli officials over the issue of operations in Rafah, Griffiths responded that Israel “to their credit” had daily discussions with UN officials on the issue and that Israeli officials had asked the UN to be involved in evacuating civilians to a safe location.
Griffiths affirmed that the United Nations would not participate in the forced evacuation of Palestinian civilians into safe zones.
Griffith did not mention the two hostages the IDF rescued from Rafah, proving that Hamas was carrying out their illegal activities within a heavily populated civilian area.
Describing why he felt that Gaza was the worst humanitarian crisis he had witnessed, exceeding those he had seen in Syria, Griffiths said that it was because “people can’t escape, they are blocked in.”
Government spokesman Elyon Levy condemned the comments by Griffiths, posting on X that “Martin Griffiths, @UNReliefChief, denies Hamas is a terrorist organization. No wonder he is abusing his power to save Hamas’s skin after the deadliest terror attack since 9/11 instead of demanding its surrender.”
Israel’s national X account also commented on the interview, posting “According to @UNReliefChief Hamas is not a terrorist organization.
“They are a political organization, which from time to time murders, rapes and kidnaps civilians to let off steam.
“What an abomination the @UN has become.”