-Deborah Akinyosoye
Israeli authorities said they have declared United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata in Israel and banned him from entering the country.
This declaration comes in response to Guterres’ silence regarding Iran’s recent attack on Israel.
According to Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, in a tweet via his official X handle on Wednesday, “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.”
He criticised Guterres for failing to denounce the “massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on October 7,” and for not leading efforts to declare Hamas a terrorist organization.
Katz further condemned the UN leader, asserting, “A Secretary-General who gives backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran—the mothership of global terror—will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN.”
He concluded by reaffirming Israel’s commitment to its national security, stating, “Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres.”
The statement reads, “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 foot on Israeli soil.
“This is a Secretary-General who has yet to denounce the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on October 7, nor has he led any efforts to declare them a terrorist organization.
“A Secretary-General who gives backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran—the mothership of global terror—will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN.
“Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres.”