Israel has banned the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres from entering the country.
Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, declared Guterres “undesirable” in a post on X on Wednesday
He stated that Guterres’ failure to condemn Iran’s recent missile attacks on Israel was the motivation for the ban.
Recall that Iran fired a barrage of missiles on Israel on Tuesday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said the missile attack on Israel was a response to the killing of Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah and the IRGC commander, Abbas Nilforoushan last week, as well as that of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh earlier this year.
“I decided today to declare U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres an undesirable personality in Israel and to ban his entry into Israel,” Katz wrote.
He accused Guterres of failing to “unequivocally condemn Iran’s criminal attack on Israel,” which Katz said disqualifies the UN leader from setting foot on Israeli soil.
READ ALSO: Israel promises consequences after Iranian missile attack
In response to the widening regional violence, Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, saying, “This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”
However, his remarks were seen by Israel as insufficiently critical of Iran and its allies.
Katz accused Guterres of supporting terrorist organizations.
“Israel will continue to protect its citizens and maintain its status and national honour with or without Antonio Guterres,” he said.
The foreign minister also linked Guterres’ position to support for groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
This move is the latest in a series of diplomatic clashes between Israel and the UN, with several officials from the global body barred from entering the country in recent months, including Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for Palestinians, and the head of the UN’s humanitarian office in the occupied Palestinian territories.
It remains uncertain if Katz holds the legal authority to enforce such a ban, as the power typically falls within the jurisdiction of Israel’s interior minister.
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