GENEVA, March 18, 2019 – National security expert and former commander of British Forces in Afghanistan Col. Richard Kemp today addressed the Rally for Equal Rights at the United Nations—see quotes below.
For links to other speakers’ quotes, videos, photos, livestream and more, click here.
Quotes on the UNHRC inquiry:
- I have first-hand knowledge of what Hamas and the IDF have done and I gave evidence to the Commission of Inquiry. I told them from my professional experience the reality on the border, and they did not listen to one word of what I said. This report is a tissue of lies, abuse, prejudice and distortion and is not worth the paper it is printed on.
- I told the UNHRC that Hamas’ objective is to slaughter and kidnap Israeli civilians on the border. Hamas is the only army in history deliberately enticing its enemy to kill its own people – that’s what Hamas tries to do with the violent demonstrations on the border. What they wanted was Israeli defensive action – which is what they saw – so Israel could be tried for crimes against humanity and war crimes. The United Nations has played straight into the hands of Hamas.
- The UNHRC has failed Israel and it has failed the Palestinian people. The reason it has failed the Palestinian people is because they’ve failed to condemn the oppressor of the Palestinian people – Hamas. Those are the people getting the pass by the UNHRC. The UN has played directly into the hands of Hamas and the UNHRC has become an instrument of Hamas terrorism.
- By failing to condemn the use of human shields, violent tactics on border and by condemning Israel, the UN is encouraging more of this by Hamas. In a few days time, Hamas is planning hugely increased violence, encouraged and facilitated by this organization here. They are friends of Hamas and they are friends of the instruments of terrorism.
Quotes on the legitimacy of the IDF:
- The IDF is one of the finest armies in the world. They are phenomenally professional people and put themselves in supreme danger. Day in day out, these soldiers put their lives on the line to come back and watch the filth poured out at them from the international media.
- When you see IDF Lt. Gal Keidan stabbed to death yesterday, Rabbi Achiad Ettinger killed and another soldier (Alexander Dvorsky) in critical condition, you can appreciate, honor and respect the sacrifices they make for the State of Israel – and not just for the State of Israel but for the whole world – because the IDF is at the forefront of all our fights against international jihad.
- On the Gaza border, the IDF took every possible step to prevent civilian loss on the other side. I’ve served in this situation for 30 years against riots and crowds trying to kill my troops. I thought, “What could the IDF have done more than it did?” I can’t think of anything. Nobody can tell you how Israel could have done it differently. If it had done any differently, the border would have been breached and thousands would have poured through into Israeli communities with the goal of killing and tearing them to pieces. If this had happened, the IDF would have had to kill many more than they had in the process of protecting the border. The IDF simply couldn’t have allowed them to get into the communities. They acted in a restrained way, putting their own lives on the line. They don’t deserve the vilification; they deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.
Full remarks, as delivered:
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a real honor to be speaking to you and thank you very much indeed for coming and spending your time here. Our cause is certainly made stronger by your presence and your support. Before I say anything I want to say “Shalom,” “Guten tag,” “Bonjour,” and that’s the end of my European languages. I can say “Hello” as well, but that is about it.
I want to also thank Hillel and his fantastic organization UN Watch, which has done so many brilliant things against this mob in here behind me over so many years. They are a very very important fighting organization in support of the Jewish state and may I ask you please, if you don’t support them, support them in every possible way you can. And I recognize being here today is not only supporting Israel, but supporting the wonderful UN Watch.
Ladies and gentlemen, I was on the border with Gaza a couple of days ago, and I’ve been there many times since this violence began about a year ago.
I’ve seen exactly what happens, I’ve not been sitting with the press. The IDF has allowed me to go right to the very front lines with the snipers, with the observers, and with the commanders so I can see for myself precisely what is happening and not have to listen to this nonsense and believe it, and I don’t anyway.
So I’ve got firsthand knowledge of what Hamas has done and firsthand knowledge of what the IDF has done, and I am going to tell you about that now.
I came here to your wonderful city of Geneva in December and I spoke then. I gave evidence to your less than wonderful Human Rights Commission’s Commission of Inquiry just inside that building there [points to the UN] for several hours. I told them, from my own professional experience what was the reality of what happened on the border.
They did not listen to one word I said. And in this report that they produced, nothing I said is reflected. This report is a tissue of lies, abuse, prejudice, and distortion. It is not worth the paper it is printed on.
I told them that Hamas’s objective was to do what it’s done with rockets and with attack tunnels burying underneath the borders of Israel to attack to slaughter and to kidnap Israeli citizens in the communities near the border. That it was Hamas’s objective to persuade the IDF to counter the attacks and kill their own civilian population.
Hamas is the only army in history—if you could call it an army—which has deliberately tried to entice its enemies to kill its own people, can you believe that? That’s what Hamas does, it’s what Hamas tries to do in everything it does. It’s what Hamas tries to do by these violent demonstrations on the border.
They had no idea that they would actually break through the border and carry out successful attacks against Israel, they wanted to but they didn’t expect to. What they wanted was Israeli defensive action that they saw so that people like this in the building behind me could condemn Israel for war crimes, for crimes against humanity, and for unnecessarily killing innocent civilians.
That is their plan, that is their objective and of course, many, many people, including media, human rights organizations, NGOs, universities, politicians, they all play straight into the hands of Hamas. I worked very closely with the IDF for many years—they are one of the finest armies in the world. I say one of the finest armies in the world, because obviously as a British soldier, the British army is the finest in the world. I know you’ll all agree with that.
They are phenomenally professional people, they work incredibly hard, and, in trying to save the lives of innocent civilians on the enemy side in Gaza, they put themselves at risk. They are in danger and they sometimes pay the supreme sacrifice. They are sometimes very seriously wounded.
I was there on the border recently with some of the incidents and watching and talking to young Israeli soldiers, nineteen years of age, eighteen years of age, day in day out putting their lives on the line to come back and watch on television the kind of filth that is poured out against them by the international media, it’s shocking.
When you see and when you hear about people like Staff Sergeant Gal Keidan, who was stabbed to death in Israel only yesterday. When you see that and when you see Rabbi Ettinger killed and another soldier shot, and now in critical condition, you can appreciate the danger these men are on day in and day out, in the West Bank—I’ll get into trouble saying the West Bank, so I mean Judea and Samaria—and in the Gaza border.
We can only, I think, honor and appreciate and respect the sacrifices they make for the state of Israel and not just for the state of Israel but for the whole world because they’re on the frontline of all of our fights against international Jihad.
They took every possible step to prevent losing lives of civilians on the other side. Every single thing you could do. I have served in this situation, I have commanded British troops facing rioting crowds with terrorists in among them armed with bombs and guns trying to kill my troops.
I have been in that situation, and I thought to myself amidst all the criticism, ‘What could the IDF do more than it didn’t do? How could the IDF prevent the loss of life in Gaza while still protecting their own civilian population?’ And I can’t think of anything.
I served in this kind of situation for 30 years, 30 years… I cannot think of anything. But the geniuses inside this building, they say Israel should have done it differently. But none of them can tell you how Israel could have done it differently. Nobody can tell you how Israel could have done it differently.
If Israel had done it differently, the border would have been breached, thousands of people would have poured through. They would have aimed straight for the Israeli communities just on the other side of the border with the intention of cutting them to pieces, shooting them, and kidnapping. And would the IDF have allowed that? No. So what would the IDF have had to do?
It would have had to kill many many more of them than it ended up killing in the process of defending the border because if you’ve got thousands of civilians breaking through and terrorists among them, you simply can’t let them get into those communities and there’s no other way of stopping them except by shooting them.
So really, they acted in a very restrained way, they put their own lives on the line. The IDF don’t deserve the vilification they get in here, they deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.
Ladies and gentlemen, this organization the UN Human Rights Council has failed Israel. It’s also failed the Palestinian people. The reason it’s failed the Palestinian people is because it’s failed to condemn the oppressors of the Palestinian people Hamas.
Hamas, as we speak now, as we’re here now, Hamas is shooting at genuine peaceful protestors inside Gaza, those are the oppressors, those are the people that are given a pass by this organization. Therefore it’s failing the Palestinian people by allowing the continued oppression of them by Hamas.
And the other final thing I want to say, ladies and gentlemen, is that the United Nations Human Rights Council, by playing directly into the hands of Hamas, by adopting and following their plans, the UN Human Rights Council has become an instrument of Hamas terrorism.
By failing to condemn the use of human shields, the use of violent tactics on the border, tactics that will entice Israel to shoot their own civilians, by failing to condemn them and by condemning Israel, they are playing right into that plan. They are encouraging more of this by Hamas.
In a few days time, on the anniversary of the beginning of this process, Hamas is planning hugely increased violence. That is being encouraged and facilitated by this lot in here, they are our enemies, they are friends of Hamas, they are instruments of terrorism.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
