UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations made a call Wednesday Israel’s ban on Secretary General Antonio Guterres upon entering the country, a political statement from the Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that the world body’s contacts with Israel will continue “because they have to.”
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s deeming the UN chief “persona non grata” is also “yet another attack on United Nations staff that we have had from the government of Israel seen.”
Israeli accusations of UN bias and anti-Semitism date back decades, but the rift has widened since the October 7 Hamas attacks in the south of the country killed around 1,200 people. launched the war in Gaza. The Israeli offensive against the militant group has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which did not say how many fighters there were but that just over half were women and children.
An Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon and other attacks on Hezbollaha Lebanese militant group also backed by Iran, and a Iranian missile attack against Israel on Tuesday threatened to undermine the Middle East in total war. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on the Middle East on Wednesday.
Guterres did not respond to a question about the ban as he headed to the meeting, where he demanded an end to the escalation of “tit-for-tat violence” that he warned would leave people in the Middle East “straight over the abyss leads.” .”
Earlier in the day, Katz accused Guterres of being biased against Israel and claimed the UN chief never condemned the Hamas attacks. sexual violence committed by his fighters.
Dujarric strongly disagreed, saying Guterres had condemned “over and over again the terrorist attacks, the acts of sexual violence and other horrors that we have seen.”
But the Israeli government strongly objected to the Secretary General’s phrase in his initial condemnation Hamas’ attack did not take place ‘in a vacuum’.
Israel has also accused employees of the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, called UNRWA – the main aid provider in Gaza, of being members of Hamas and taking part in the October 7 attacks, and has restricted their activities.
The UN’s internal watchdog investigated these Israeli allegations. UNRWA said on Monday that a The top Hamas commander killed in Lebanon was an employee who had been suspended since allegations of his ties to the militant group emerged in March.
UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini has done so accused Israel of trying to destroy its operations. The agency provides education, health care, food and other services to several million Palestinians and their families.
Guterres has also accused Israel of “collective punishment” of Palestinians in its nearly year-long military response to the Hamas attacks in Gaza. Haven’t seen so much death and destruction during his seven years as Secretary General.
Dujarric said that in his 24 years at the UN, UN staff members have been declared persona non grata by a country, but he was not aware of a secretary general being excluded.
He emphasized that the United Nations has never recognized this concept being applied to UN personnel.
Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, this practice applies to a country that declares a diplomat persona non grata – and not to an international organization.
“We continue our contacts with Israel at the operational level and at other levels as necessary,” Dujarric said.
