Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz has announced he was barring UN Secretary-General António Guterres from entering the country, citing what he called Guterres’ failure to “unequivocally” condemn Iran’s recent missile attack on Israel.
On October 2, Katz accused Guterres of bias, pointing to what he said was the UN leader’s lack of a strong condemnation of the assault. “Anyone who cannot unequivocally denounce Iran’s heinous attack on Israel has no right to set foot on Israeli soil,” Katz declared.
He further criticised Guterres, calling him “an Israel-hating Secretary-General who supports terrorists.”
Today, I have declared UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres persona non grata in Israel and banned him from entering the country.
Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) October 2, 2024
This latest clash between Israel and the UN came just five days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a near-empty UN General Assembly in New York, where he vowed to “degrade Hezbollah” until Israel’s objectives were met.
On October 1, Tehran escalated tensions by launching more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, many of which were intercepted although some breached Israeli missile defence systems.
In response, Guterres issued a brief statement on the same day referring vaguely to the “latest attacks in the Middle East” and condemning the ongoing conflict as a cycle of “escalation after escalation.”
The UN has long been a vocal critic of Israel’s foreign policy and this latest decision by Israel’s foreign minister will likely further heighten tensions between the two.
The European Union has “condemned” Iran’s ballistic missile strike on Israel and called for an immediate ceasefire across the Middle East. https://t.co/73ibh37Uof
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 2, 2024
