Israel to refuse visas to UN officials after Guterres speech
Oct 26, 2023
Tel Aviv [Israel], October 26: Israel will refuse visas to United Nations officials, its ambassador to the UN has said, as the country's spat with the international organisation deepens. Gilad Erdan made the statement on Wednesday, according to Israeli media, as the fallout from the UN chief's speech at the Security Council the previous day continues. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres indirectly criticised Israel for ordering the evacuation of civilians from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip. He also said Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 did not happen "in a vacuum" as the Palestinians have been "subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation". Many countries welcomed Guterres's "very balanced approach", reported Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo from New York. However, Israel was "furious" and its officials called on the UN chief to resign. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was at the debate, "was so upset", said Elizondo, "that he cancelled a meeting with the secretary-general that was supposed to happen Tuesday afternoon". "It is really unusual to see this sort of reaction against the secretary-general," Elizondo added. "Due to his [Guterres's] 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 on X, formerly Twitter, that the UN chief has "expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder" with this speech.
