Israel does not need to “apologize all the time”, Ambassador Alan Baker told Arutz Sheva on Monday, following the release of the UN report which accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza.

Baker is formerly Israel’s ambassador to Canada and director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA).

“I think we have a lot to be very proud of and we should say what we have to say without it appearing or being perceived to be apologetic,” he said.

The JCPA, continued Baker, “prepared a very detailed report which we forwarded to the UN commission. Similarly in the last week or so, the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office have issued a very detailed report which isn’t political. It explains exactly what the considerations were that caused us to react to the rocket fire and terrorism, and the way in which we observed the norms of international humanitarian law, and the way in which we are investigating ourselves.”

As for the UN report itself, Baker pointed out that “this is a political report by a political committee, established by a political organization based on a very one-sided and biased mandate that established in advance that Israel committed war crimes.”

“If anyone was expecting that the UN would come out with a welcoming of Israel’s humanitarian activities, then obviously they’re going to be mistaken,” he added.