US envoy Nikki Haley has accused the UN of "bullying" Israel, saying she will not tolerate a situation where the world body of 198 countries spend half their time attacking the Jewish nation.
Referring to her Indian-American heritage and some of the bitter experiences she endured while growing in her home town in South Carolina, Haley said she has zero patience for bullying.
"When I grew up, we were the only Indian family in a small southern town in South Carolina. On the whole it was a great friendly community. But that didn't mean every day was great. My parents were immigrants. My father wore a turban, my mother wore sari. There were times that we got bullied," the US ambassador to the UN said.
"I stood up to bullying then, and I will stand up to bullying Israel at the UN," said 46-year-old Haley, the first Indian-American to serve on a Cabinet rank position in any presidential administration in the US.
"We will not tolerate a situation that a world body of 198 countries can spend half their time attacking one country: Israel. What used to be a monthly Israel bashing session now at least has more balance. But were never going to put up with bullying," she said amidst a standing ovation from the audience.
She alleged that in the UN and throughout the UN agencies, Israel does get bullied.
"It gets bullied because the countries that dont like Israel are used to being able to get away with it. That just doesnt sit well with me," Haley said in her address to the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
"The UN spends more than half of its time singling out one country. We will not stand for it any longer," Haley said as she reiterated the pledge of the Trump administration for its commitment to the Israeli.
"If we want to talk about security in the Middle East we should talk about Iran or Syria or Hezbollah, Hamas, ISIS, the famine in Yemen. There are probably 10 major problems facing the middle east and Israel doesn't have anything to do with any of them," she said.
Defending the decision of president Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, she said America did not make Jerusalem as Israeli Capital, it was, is and always will be Israels capital.
"What president Trump did, to his great credit, was recognise a reality that American presidents had denied for too long," she said.
Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December and announced that the US embassy would move to the city in May, shortly after Israel's 70th anniversary.
The decision caused uproar in the Arab world and led Palestinian leaders to reject a US role in mediating a resolution to the decades old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Trump yesterday said he might even the visit Jerusalem in May this year to open the new American Embassy there.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)