Israel bans UN secretary-general António Guterres from entering country
Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz labels the UN chief a 'persona non grata' saying he had failed to condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Israel has banned UN secretary-general António Guterres from entering the country after declaring him a “persona non grata” “as a stain on the history” of the organisation.
Announcing the decision on social media, Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said: “Today, I have declared UN secretary-general António Guterres persona non grata in Israel and banned him from entering the country.
“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.
“This is a secretary-general who has yet to denounce the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on 7 October, nor has he led any efforts to declare them a terrorist organization.”
In further tough talk Katz accused Guterres of giving “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.”
The minister said: “Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres.”
The UN chief had previously angered Israelis when he said after the October 7 massacre: “It is important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”
Although following the Hamas atrcity Guterres also said “I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel. Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets. All hostages must be treated humanely and released immediately and without conditions.”
He also said the Palestinians “have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence” but that “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.”
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