Israel will refuse visas to United Nations officials, the country’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan has said, further straining its ties with the international organisation.
Erdan made the statement on Wednesday, according to Israeli media, after the remarks by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UN Security Council, which according to Israel, appeared to justify Hamas’s attack on Israel.
Guterres indirectly criticised Israel for ordering the evacuation of civilians from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip.
“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” Guterres said at a UN Security Council meeting on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war as the Palestinians have been “subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation”.
Many countries welcomed Guterres’s remark calling it a “very balanced approach”, as quoted by Al Jazeera. However, Israel was “furious” and its officials called for the resignation of the UN chief.
“Due to his remarks, we will refuse to issue visas to UN representatives,” Erdan told Army Radio. “We have already refused a visa for Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths. The time has come to teach them a lesson”, Erdan said.
He also wrote on X that the UN chief has “expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder” with this speech.
Guterres later posted an extract from his speech on X in an attempt to show that he has criticised both Hamas and Israel for the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
“The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks by Hamas. Those horrendous attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he wrote.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Israel’s call for the UN secretary-general to resign, describing it as an “unprovoked attack”, reports Al Jazeera.
In a post on X, the Palestinian ministry described Israel’s position as an “extension” of its “disrespect and lack of commitment” to the UN, its charter, and resolutions regarding Palestine.
The conflict began when Hamas launched an unprecedented and highly coordinated attack on Israeli communities on October 7. About 5,800 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in retaliatory Israeli bombardments, the Palestine Health Ministry said.
Guterres had travelled last week to the Rafah crossing in a bid to get assistance through the border between Egypt and Gaza. He, in his speech also welcomed the entry of three aid convoys so far, adding that it was just “a drop of aid in an ocean of need”.
The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) warned it would be forced to stop working Wednesday due to a lack of fuel.
“To ease epic suffering, make the delivery of aid easier and safer, and facilitate the release of hostages. I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” Guterres said.