Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon, whose parents Bilha and Yaakov Inon were killed in Hamas's October 7 attack, criticized the Israeli government's policies in an unusual address to the United Nations Security Council on Monday, saying that "our grief cannot be an excuse for war."
Inon claimed that the government had "used these atrocities to wage a devastating war of revenge" and called for efforts to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace.
The meeting focused on the periodic report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 from 2016, which calls for an end to settlement construction.
The report, presented by Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN's acting coordinator for the Middle East peace process, included sharp accusations against Israel over settlement expansion, demolitions, and the displacement of Palestinians, alongside claims of harm to the humanitarian space in Gaza.
Representatives from the UK, France, China, Russia, and other countries criticized settlement expansion and the E1 plan, arguing that they jeopardize the possibility of a two-state solution.
Revenge feeds 'endless cycle of trauma'
The UK, France, and other countries cited measures targeting trade in settlement products and sanctions against individuals they said were involved in violence and settlement expansion.
"On the morning of October 7, my world collapsed," Inon told the Security Council. "My beloved parents, Bilha and Yaakov, were among the first victims of the Hamas attack in Netiv Ha’asara."
Two days later, he said, his family decided to reject revenge.
"Revenge will never bring my parents back. It only feeds an endless cycle of trauma and blood."
Inon, 51, was born in Nir Am and is married with three children. He lives in Binyamina and previously served on the town's local council plenum.
He appeared alongside his Palestinian partner, Aziz Abu Sarah. The two are co-CEOs of InterAct International, an international nonprofit organization that promotes reconciliation and peace, and co-authored the book The Future Is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land.
"Hamas committed horrific war crimes on October 7, murdering and kidnapping innocent Israelis," Inon stressed, adding that "At the same time, the Israeli government used these atrocities to wage a devastating war of revenge."
He claimed that the war had brought "catastrophic destruction" to Gaza and had also accelerated "ethnic cleansing, settlement expansion and forced displacement in the West Bank."
"They used our pain," he added. "But our grief cannot be an excuse for war. It should be the catalyst to end the bloodshed."
Israel's UN mission condemns UNSC for not designating Hamas terror org.
Israel's representative at the meeting, Noa Furman, deputy head of Israel's mission to the UN, began her remarks by expressing condolences to Inon and acknowledging his pain over the loss of his parents.
She then criticized the UN's Security Council for having yet to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Furman said the fundamental obstacle to peace was the absence of a Palestinian partner committed to it. She accused the Palestinian Authority of continuing payments to terrorists and their families and said peace required the disarmament of Hamas, a fight against terrorism, and genuine reform of the Palestinian Authority.