Tel Aviv/ United Nations: Israel’s banning of UN secretary-general António Guterres from entering that country appears to have made the Iran-Israel war scenario a more complex one.
Foreign minister, Israel Katz, on Wednesday announced that the country has declared UN secretary-general António Guterres 'persona non grata' and banned him from entering Israel.
Why has Israel banned the UN chief's entry?
Israel's ban on UN secretary-general António Guterres came after Guterres "failed to unequivocally condemn Iran's missile attack on Israel and the Hamas attacks on October 7."
According to Katz, anyone failing to criticise these actions does not deserve to enter Israel. The confrontation became more stark afer Katz said Israel will defend its citizens and uphold its dignity, with or without the UN chief’s support.
In a post on X, Katz said, "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 foot on Israeli soil."
What did the UN chief say about the Middle East crisis?
UN chief Guterres expressed concern over the ongoing escalation in the Middle East after Iran's rocket attack on Israel. He, however,didn't name Iran or Israel for the tension. "I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire," he said in an X post.
Alongside, Guterres also voiced concern over the conflict in Lebanon ansd urged Israel to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. “I am extremely concerned with the escalation of the conflict in Lebanon and appeal for an immediate ceasefire. An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.”
On Gaza, he said, “The level of suffering we are witnessing in Gaza is unprecedented in my mandate as secretary-general of the United Nations. I’ve never seen such a level of death and destruction as we are seeing in Gaza in the last few months.
The United Nations on Wednesday called Israel’s ban on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres entering the country a political statement by its foreign minister and stressed that the world body’s contacts with Israel will continue “because they have to.”
UN reaction about Israel's ban
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz deeming the U.N. chief “persona non grata” is also “one more attack on the United Nations staff that we’ve seen from the government of Israel.”
Israel’s accusations of U.N. bias and antisemitism date back decades, but the rift has intensified since Hamas’ October 7 attacks in the country’s south killed about 1,200 people and launched the war in Gaza. Israel’s offensive against the militant group has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters but that a little more than half were women and children.
An Israeli ground incursion in Lebanon and other attacks against Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group also backed by Iran, and an Iranian missile strike against Israel on Tuesday have threatened to plunge the Middle East into all-out war. The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday on the Middle East.
Guterres didn’t respond to a question about the ban as he headed to the meeting, where he demanded a halt to the escalation of “tit-for-tat violence” that he warned is leading people in the Middle East “straight over the cliff.”(With inputs from agencies)
