Israel has banned UN Secretary-General António Guterres from entering the country after declaring him a “persona non grata” “as a stain on the history” of the organisation.
Announcing the decision on social media, Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said: “Today, I have declared UN secretary-general António Guterres 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 7 October, nor has he led any efforts to declare them a terrorist organization.”
Katz accused Guterres of giving backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran – the mothership of global terror, noting that it would 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 UN chief had previously angered Israelis when he said after the October 7 massacre: “It is important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”
