A photo has been circulating on social networks for many months, allegedly showing the current UN Secretary General together with the founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Internet users cite this photo as an explanation for Guterres' anti-Israel stance. We figured out who is shown in the picture.
Throughout 2024, the photo circulated on social media as evidence of Guterres and Arafat's long-standing friendship. It was alleged that the photo was taken in the 1970s, and one of the people in it was the future UN Secretary General. Users wrote about this Facebook And social networks X, as well as the authors Telegram channels. Some bloggers noted that this photo was available on the Internet, but then deliberately deleted so as not to compromise the Portuguese politician.
Attitudes towards the UN Secretary General deteriorated noticeably in Israel last year. On October 7, 2023, militants from Palestinian terrorist organizations, mainly Hamas, broke through the fence on the border of the Gaza Strip, and then attacked to Israeli populated areas. About 1200 Israelis were killed, more than 250 became hostages.
In response, Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip using ground forces and aircraft. UN repeatedly condemned Israel for attacks on Palestinian populated areas. October 24 Guterres made a speech, which sparked an angry response from the Israeli government. He first said he condemned the attacks carried out by Hamas, but then said: "It is also important to recognize that Hamas' attacks did not occur in a vacuum." “The Palestinian people have been subjected to a stifling occupation for 56 years,” the UN Secretary General added. Israeli officials took these words as a justification for terrorism and demanded the resignation of Guterres.
In the black and white photograph, which is cited as evidence of the pro-Palestinian position of the UN Secretary General, the founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasser Arafat is recognizable: he is depicted in a specially folded keffiyeh, a Palestinian headdress and black glasses.
If you use Google reverse image search, it’s easy to find the photo in the agency’s photo bank Getty Images. It was taken in Jordan on August 27, 1970, and uploaded to the site in 2010.
The caption to the photo indicates that it shows PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Kamal Nasser, the organization's official representative. Kamal Boutros Nasser was one of Arafat's closest associates; in the early 1970s he worked press secretary of the PLO and served on the organization's executive committee. In 1973, Nasser was killed during an Israeli intelligence operation in Beirut. Its goal was to eliminate the top of the terrorist movement after Palestinian militants attacked Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics.
Also in the photo you can see a third man leaning towards Arafat. Most likely this is the leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) Naif Hawatme.
IN English-language blogs To confirm Guterres’s connection with the PLO, another photograph is being circulated, which, however, shows the same Yasser Arafat and Kamal Nasser.
This photo is also available in photo banks. Getty Images indicates that it was made at a press conference by Arafat and representatives of other Palestinian organizations in Jordan in 1970. The man on Arafat’s right hand is not Guterres, but still the same Kamal Nasser, on the left is the already mentioned Naif Hawatme, leader of the DFLP.
The future UN Secretary General was only 21 years old in 1970. At that time he studied in physics and engineering at the University of Lisbon, from which he graduated in 1971. Guterres then briefly worked as a teacher until he joined the Socialist Party in 1974 and began his political career. Two years later, Guterres was elected Member of the Portuguese Parliament, where he sat for 17 years.
Thus, in the photographs that are distributed on the Internet, it is not Guterres who is depicted next to Arafat, but a high-ranking member of the PLO Kamal Nasser.
Cover photo: social networks
Read on topic:
- Did Golda Meir say: “You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you”?
- Did Israel's UN representative say that his countrymen were killing Palestinians because they threw stones at them?
- Did the Israeli Defense Minister say that the country's authorities have abolished all rules of war?
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please let us know by highlighting the error text and clicking Ctrl+Enter.
