Israel defends ban on Guterres, accuses UN chief of ‘anti-Semitic behavior’

The Israeli regime has defended its decision to ban the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, accusing the leader of the world’s top international body of “anti-Semitic behavior.”

The Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday justified Tel Aviv’s decision to ban Guterres from entering the Israeli-occupied lands after more than 100 UN member nations protested the move.

He claimed that they banned Guterres from “entering Israel because he did not condemn the Iranian missile fire” on occupied territories and “his anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli behavior.”

Iran carried out a retaliatory operation against the Israeli regime, dubbed Operation True Promise II, on October 1 in response to the regime’s assassinations of Hamas’s chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan.

The United Nations on Wednesday called Israel’s decision to label the UN chief as a “persona non grata” and ban Guterres from entering the Israeli-occupied Palestinian lands as an abortive political move.

It pointed out that the world body’s contacts with the Israeli regime will continue “because they have to.”

Later, in a joint letter more than 100 UN member nations, stressed their “full support and confidence in the Secretary-General and his work.”

They stated that Tel Aviv’s decision to designate Guterres as a persona non grata harmed the UN’s “ability to carry out its mandate” and could further delay an end to the genocidal war in Gaza, where more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military.

Katz in his post claimed that nearly 90 percent of Israelis agree with his decision and that “Guterres can continue to try to collect signatures in support [of himself] from UN members [but] the decision will not be changed.”

Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesman, told reporters that labeling the UN chief as “persona non grata” equaled another attack by the Israeli regime on the United Nations staff.

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Dujarric went on to rebuke the occupying regime’s moves, saying during his 24 years at the UN he did not ever hear once that a secretary-general had been labeled as “persona non grata” by anyone.

He said according to the United Nations’ laws, the concept of a “persona non grata” was not even applicable to UN staff.

The UN official said the international organization will continue its efforts to maintain international peace and security, protect human rights, and deliver humanitarian aid because it is the work it is assigned to do.

“We continue our contacts with Israel at the operational level and other levels because we need to,” Dujarric asserted.

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