Israel bars UN secretary-general from entering country

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel has barred the UN secretary-general from entering the country, declaring him officially unwelcome, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

"I have declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata in Israel and banned him from entering the country," said Israel Katz in a statement.

Several UN officials were also banned from entering Israel in recent months, including UN Special Rapporteur for Palestinians Francesca Albanese, accused of siding with the Palestinians, and the UN humanitarian office chief in occupied Palestinian Territory, who said in August that Israel did not extend his visa due to a UN report accusing Israel of violating the rights of Palestinian children.

Israel has also attacked the credibility of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA.

Seeking to justify the move, the foreign minister said Guterres did not "unequivocally condemn" Iran over its Tuesday missile attack on Israel and also has not declared Palestinian resistance group Hamas a "terrorist organization."

On Tuesday, Iran fired some 180 missiles at Israel, which said it was in retaliation for the recent assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander.

Israel vowed late Tuesday to respond to the attack at a time of its choosing, calling it “a severe, dangerous escalation.”

Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s nearly year-long relentless offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 41,600 people, most of them women and children, following a Hamas attack last October.

The conflict also spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country which have killed more than 1,000 people and injured nearly 3,000 others since Sept. 23.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar