Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” and banned him from entering the country. The foreign minister of Israel has accused Guterres of failing to “unequivocally” condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel on October 1st.
Katz made this declaration through, X (formerly Twitter), stating, “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.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister also accused Secretary-General Guterres of backing terrorists, rapists, and murderers, and described him as “a stain in the history of the UN.”
Today, I have declared UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres 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…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) October 2, 2024
Israel Katz’s statement in response to Secretary-General Guterres’s reaction to Iranian attack
After Iran’s attack on Israel concluded on Tuesday night, Secretary-General Guterres was quick to condemn the escalation of violence in the Middle East but did not mention Iran directly.
Through his X account, the UN chief said,“I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”
This reaction, however, was not enough to soften relations between the United Nations and Israel. Since the October 7th terror attack in Israel, relations between the country and the multilateral organization have turned sour, particularly over Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
Katz’s statement is a reflection of just how sour relations between Israel and the United Nations are at the moment. In his X post, Katz also said that Secretary-General Guterres did not condemn “the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on October 7.”
He also went as far as to accuse Guterres of supporting Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran, which he described as “the mothership of global terror.”
Israel’s shift towards Lebanon has greatly worried UN Chief Guterres
After Israel’s war in Gaza expanded to Lebanon in late September 2024, the UN chief revealed he was alarmed by the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the large number of civilian casualties.
The situation has only worsened since Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and Guterres once again pleaded for all sides to “take a step back from the brink,” emphasizing that the region cannot withstand an “all-out war.”
To these statements, Foreign Minister Katz was once again defying, as he said, “Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without Antonio Guterres.”
While Israel’s Foreign Minister has declared the UN Secretary-General persona non grata and has continued to antagonize him, the United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting on Wednesday, October 2nd to address the escalating conflict.
