As Israel designated UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as ‘persona non grata’ by banning his entry into the Jewish nation, the United Nations has said that despite the move, the world body will continue to engage with Israel. The UN said that Israel’s move is yet another attack on the world body’s staff. Israel has accused the UN of being biased and criticised it for failing to condemn the terrorist attacks taking place against the country.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during a media interaction that Guterres has condemned ‘over and over again the terror attacks, the acts of sexual violence and other horrors that we’ve seen’ against Israel.
Israel has long accused the United Nations of bias and antisemitism, a dispute that has spanned decades. However, tensions have sharply escalated since Hamas’ attacks on southern Israel on October 7, which killed around 1,200 people and triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel’s military offensive against Hamas has resulted in the deaths of over 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. While the ministry does not specify how many of the casualties were fighters, it reports that over half were women and children.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday after Israel began its ground offensive in Lebanon and other attacks against Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group also backed by Iran. Guterres demanded a halt to the escalation of ‘tit-for-tat violence’.
“The raging fires in the Middle East are fast becoming an inferno. Exactly one week ago, I briefed the Security Council about the alarming situation in Lebanon. Since then, things have gone from bad to much, much worse….And I stressed that Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected and the Lebanese State must have full control of weapons throughout Lebanon,” said Guterres.
The UN Secretary-General said that it is high time for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and Gaza. “It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff,” he said.
