Israeli broadcasting authority announced that Israel is threatening to refuse entry visas to United Nations staff in light of remarks made by the organization's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The official broadcasting authority added: "In light of the Secretary-General's recent speech at the Security Council, Israel will examine whether to approve all visa applications submitted to enter Israel by UN employees." This position comes after growing Israeli anger towards comments made by Guterres during a Security Council session held on Tuesday, which the Tel Aviv government considered to be "supportive" of Hamas.
The authority pointed out that "since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, more UN employees have requested to come to the region, referring to Israel and the Palestinian areas where Israeli authorities grant permission for entry." Generally, the presence of UN staff increases in areas experiencing wars and crises.
As of now, there has been no official stance issued by Israeli authorities regarding restricting the entry of UN staff in light of Guterres's criticized statements. For its part, the UN has not reported any obstacles concerning the permissions that Tel Aviv grants to its representatives in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
During the Security Council session on Tuesday discussing the war between Hamas and Israel, Guterres stated: "It is important to understand that Hamas's attacks did not occur in a vacuum, and that these attacks do not justify the mass killing witnessed in Gaza." He emphasized that "the Palestinian people have lived under a suffocating occupation for 56 years," reiterating his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
In response to Guterres' remarks, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen canceled a scheduled meeting with him as a protest. Cohen stated at a press conference in New York that Guterres "does not represent most and the most important member states of the United Nations," referring to the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. In this context, Israel's UN envoy Gilad Erdan called for Guterres to "resign immediately."
