The UN Secretary General has been declared ‘persona non grata’ and cannot enter Israel.
Five permanent and 10 non-permanent member states of the Security Council stood by Guterres a day after Israel declared UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres ‘unwanted’.
Meanwhile, the country’s Foreign Minister Israel Kats declared UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” in Israel on Wednesday, accusing him of failing to quickly criticize Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
A day later, five permanent and 10 non-permanent member states of the United Nations Security Council announced their support for Guterres on Thursday.
Without mentioning Israel by name, the member states of the Security Council emphasized the need for all UN member states to have an effective relationship with the UN Secretary-General. Members of the Security Council also called on all member states to refrain from any actions that undermine the work of the UN Secretary-General and his office.
Relations between Israel and the United Nations have been strained at times since Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the UN secretary-general has been declared ‘persona non grata’ and cannot enter Israel.
He said the decision was made in response to Guterres’ failure to “unequivocally condemn” Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
Katz also accused the UN Secretary General of being ‘anti-Israeli and a supporter of terrorists, rapists and murderers’. He said, “Guterres will be considered a black chapter in the history of the United Nations for generations to come.”
Guterres, however, condemned the escalation of conflict in the Middle East and called for a ceasefire. At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that same day (where the ambassadors of Iran and Israel were present), Guterres said, “I again strongly condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel.”
