Israel bars UN chief from entering country over Iran attack response
Israel has been a harsh critic of the UN, with ties between the state and the international body souring even more after the October 7 Hamas attacks
Israel declared UN chief Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” on Wednesday, accusing him of failing to specifically condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil,” said Foreign Minister Israel Katz in a statement.
“This is an anti-Israel Secretary-General who lends support to terrorists, rapists, and murderers,” he said.
Katz added that Guterres, who he said supported the “murderers of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Huthis, and now Iran, the mothership of global terror, will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN for generations to come”.
Following Iran’s missile attack on Israel late on Tuesday, Guterres condemned the “broadening conflict in the Middle East”, slamming “escalation after escalation” in the region.
“This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,” Guterres said.
