Israel bars UN chief Guterres from entry for not condemning Iran’s missile attacks
Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, has officially declared United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “persona non grata,” prohibiting him from entering the occupation state. This decision comes after Guterres’s did not condemn the recent Iranian missile strikes on Israel, which involved the launch of over 200 ballistic missiles at military sites that resulted in casualties, property damage, and widespread panic among Israeli settlers.
In a statement released on social media, Katz attacked Guterres for not specifically naming Iran in his response to the missile operation, saying that “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.” He further accused the UN chief of lending support to “terrorists, rapists, and murderers,” labeling Guterres as “a stain on the history of the UN.”
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Guterres had previously condemned the escalation of violence in the region, emphasising the need for a ceasefire.
The relationship between Israel and the UN has been strained, especially since the onset of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Katz pointed to what he described as Guterres’s responses to the “atrocities committed by Hamas during that attack”, claiming the UN chief has consistently failed to address the actions of resistance movements, which he referred to as “the mothership of global terror.”
As the conflict has extended into Lebanon, with Israel shifting its military focus towards Hezbollah, Guterres expressed grave concern over the rising civilian casualties and urged all parties to de-escalate tensions.
Katz added that Israel will continue its attacks and to “defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without Antonio Guterres.”
Proofreading by Fa’izatu Aliyu Doma, Journalist at Neptune Prime.
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