By Abiola Olawale
The Israeli government has announced that it has declared United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata in Israel and banned him from entering the country.
Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, made this declaration in a statement posted on his official X handle on Wednesday.
Katz said the decision was taken following Guterres’ alleged silence regarding Iran’s recent attack on Israel.
He also 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.
He said: “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.
“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.
“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.”
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after Iranian forces said they had fired a barrage of missiles into Israel’s territory.
The Iranian forces said the attack is targeted at three military bases around Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv.
It would be recalled that this latest attack comes after an Israeli strike on Beirut last Friday killed the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
Nasrallah was killed alongside General Abbas Nilforoushan, a top commander of the Quds Force, the IRGC’s foreign operations arm.
Following the killings, Iran had vowed that Nilforoushan’s killing would “not go unanswered”.
Also, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during his address at last month’s UN General Assembly in New York, accused Israel of warmongering, saying Iran was exercising restraint in the face of provocation.
It would be recalled that Tuesday’s attack was Iran’s second on Israel this year.
Iran had launched a missile and drone attack in April in retaliation for a deadly Israeli air strike on its consulate in Damascus.
However, the US claimed it intercepted nearly all of the missiles and drones fired in that attack.
