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Israel Denies Entry to UN Chief


The foreign minister of the nation stated that individuals who fail to ‘unequivocally condemn’ Iran’s attack on Israel will not be granted entry.

Israel has officially declared United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata, effectively prohibiting his entry into the country.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced this decision on Oct. 2, citing Guterres’ failure to condemn Iran unequivocally for the recent missile attack on Tuesday that targeted military and civilian sites across Israel, leading to 10 million people seeking refuge in bomb shelters.

Guterres condemned the escalation of the Middle East conflict without explicitly mentioning Tehran, drawing criticism from Israel’s top diplomat.

“Any individual who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s atrocious attack on Israel, as nearly every country in the world has done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil,” Katz wrote in a post on X.

Reuters reported that Guterres informed the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that he strongly condemned Iran’s attack on Israel.

Katz also criticized the U.N. chief for failing to condemn the terrorist attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in the death of 1,200 Israeli civilians and the hostage-taking of 250 individuals, as well as for not advocating for the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Gilad Erdan, head of Israel’s U.N. mission, reiterated these concerns and called for Guterres to step down.

Tensions between Israel and the U.N. have heightened amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, which reignited after the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and is entering its second year. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extends the war aims beyond dismantling Hamas in Gaza to include defeating Hezbollah in Lebanon, Guterres has consistently called for a cease-fire.

Guterres has also been advocating for international pressure on Israel to embrace a two-state solution involving a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, an idea that Netanyahu strongly opposes.
As the war expanded to Lebanon last month with Israel striking Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Guterres expressed deep concern about the escalating situation and the high number of civilian casualties.
Following the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27, Guterres urged all parties to step back and avoid a full-blown war, cautioning that the region cannot endure such a conflict.

Katz criticized the U.N.’s repeated calls for a cease-fire as Israel achieves victories on all fronts. In his post on Wednesday, he accused Guterres of supporting Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran, labeling Iran as “the mothership of global terror.”

Iran, identified by the U.S. government as a state sponsor of terrorism, launched over 180 missiles targeting Israel in response to the deaths of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

Despite being anticipated as more destructive than Iran’s previous missile and drone attack on Israel on April 13, the recent barrage caused no casualties, despite double the number of missiles being launched.
The Pentagon reported that Israel successfully intercepted most of the incoming missiles with the assistance of two U.S. Navy destroyers, and the remaining missiles that hit caused minimal damage on the ground.

Israel vowed prompt retaliation following the onslaught.

“We are on high alert both defensively and offensively,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari stated Tuesday during a TV broadcast. “We will defend the citizens of the state of Israel. This attack will have consequences. We have plans and will act at our chosen time and place.”

Netanyahu similarly cautioned that Iran made a serious error and would face repercussions for the assault.

The U.N. Security Council has convened an emergency meeting for Wednesday to address the escalating conflict.



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