The UN chief is not allowed to enter Israel because he has not come up with a clear condemnation of Iran’s massive rocket attacks against Israel, said Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz. It is happening at the same time as Israel is attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon, Yemen, Hamas in Gaza and Syria. – Denying the UN Secretary-General internal travel sends a strong signal that they do not want the UN to have a role in handling the conflict, says Ole Jacob Sending, head of the Center for Geopolitics at Nupi. Guterres wrote on X that he condemned the “expansion of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation” and said this must stop. He also wrote that the region needs a ceasefire but did not mention anything specific about the Iran attack. Katz replied that anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attacks on Israel does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil. He particularly criticized Guterres for “his anti-Israel policy since the beginning of the war”. – Initially, it appears as a drastic decision, says Sending and cannot remember that it has happened before. – It is a fairly well-established diplomatic practice that is used on diplomats who turn out to be spies. It is quite an unusual move to use on the UN Secretary-General. During a meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday afternoon, Guterres strongly condemned Iran’s attack. It is unknown whether it will reverse the decision from Israel. On Wednesday evening Norwegian time, Matthew Miller, spokesman for the US State Department, said that the decision “is not productive in any way”. Israel has long been critical of the UN system, not least the UN aid organization for Palestinian refugees. Photo: Reuters Gidon Levy is a columnist for the left-wing newspaper Haaretz. He fears that Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state, i.e. ostracized from the international community. – There are fewer and fewer airlines that want to fly to Israel and when Netanyahu speaks at the UN, delegates leave the hall, he says to news. In September, the UN also decided that Israel must withdraw from Palestine within one year, and stated that the occupation is illegal. Benjamin Netanyahu made strong accusations about the UN last week. – Designating Israel is still a moral disgrace for the UN, he said. He also called the UN “a quagmire of anti-Semitic bile”. Barth Eide was not welcome It is not the first time that Israel considers individuals and organizations to be undesirable. Earlier this year, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide was refused a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz. – I have registered that Norway’s foreign minister wants to visit Israel, and to that I just have to say that he is not welcome, said David Mencer, press manager for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the time. The background was, among other things, that Norway has recognized Palestine as a state. – Norway is one of the countries which, in the middle of this war after the massacre on 7 October, has found it too good to wrongly recognize a Palestinian state, Mencer told TV 2. – The signal to Norway and Foreign Minister Barth Eide was a somewhat milder response, says Sending. – Israel could have chosen a middle ground, by signaling that he is not allowed to meet members of the government or the like. But Israel has taken it a step further and said that he is officially unwanted – persona non grata. This indicates that there is little indication that the UN will have a central role in the attempt to mediate peace, the researcher believes. – There are probably other players who are becoming more important, such as the USA and others. Comparing Gaza to the Holocaust In February this year, the Brazilian president was also declared “persona non grata” in Israel. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva compared Israel’s warfare in Gaza to the Holocaust. – What is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war, it is a genocide, said the president. Israel called the statement shameful and said the country’s ambassador would be summoned for a “stern reprimand.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Brazilian leader had “crossed a red line”. In 2019, the democratic representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were also refused entry to Israel, after Donald Trump urged it. – Their plan is only to harm Israel and incite against Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time. The representatives had then called for a boycott of Israel, which was also one of the reasons Netanyahu gave for denying them entry. Published 02.10.2024, at 19.09 Updated 02.10.2024, at 19.45
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