‘Stain on UN,’ Israel bans Guterres from entering country; did it jump the gun?
UN Chief Antonio Guterres file photo
Israel on Wednesday (Oct 2) declared United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres 'persona non grata' and banned him from entering the country. The action came as Israel's Foreign Secretary Israel Katz accused the UN chief of harbouring bias against Israel and called him out for not condemning the October1 Iranian attacks.
"Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil," the Israeli FMsaid.
"This is an Israel-hating Secretary-General, who gives support to terrorists," he said. The minister added that Guterres would be remembered as “a stain on the history of the UN”.
“A secretary-general who gives backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran – the mothership of global terror – will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN.”
Earlier, Guterres had invited Israel’s wrath after he said the October 7 attacks by sayingHamas didn’t happen in a vacuum. “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” said the UN chief.
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Just last month, the UN had backed a non-binding motion calling for Israel to end its nearly six-decade-long occupation of the Palestinian West Bank territories.
Israel Katz jumped the gun on UN chief?
Following Israel Katz’s decision to label the UN chief as PNG, a diplomatic correspondent at Israeli Army Radio has suggested that the minister may have jumped the gun.
Yanir Cozin said the Population and Immigration Authority has not been informed about any such decision yet. He added that such a decision anyway lies with the interior ministry, not foreign.
UN chief condemnsIranian strike
Following Israeli action Wednesday, the UN chiefcondemned Iran's missile attack on Israel, telling the UN Security Council the "deadly cycle of tit-for-tat violence must stop."
"I again strongly condemn yesterday's massive missile attack by Iran on Israel," Guterres told the UNSC.
(With inputs from agencies)