Israel Bans UN Secretary General from Entering Country: 'He Doesn't Deserve to Set Foot on Our Soil'

The UN Security Council met on October 2 following Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel. The meeting was marred by Israel's announcement that it had declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata over his failure to condemn Iran, reports Fox News.

Photo: Sameer Chogale | Dreamstime.com

"Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's abhorrent attack on Israel does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz explained to the UN Secretary-General the decision to ban him from entering the country.

"This is an anti-Israel secretary general who supports terrorists, rapists and murderers," Katz said. "Guterres will remain a stain on the UN's history for generations to come."

The United Nations called the ban a "political statement" by Israel's foreign minister and stressed that the world body's contacts with Israel would continue "because they must."

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz's calling the UN chief "persona non grata" was "yet another attack by the Israeli government on United Nations staff."

Iran fired more than 2 ballistic missiles at Israel on September 180 following the death of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and the Israel Defense Forces launching an invasion of Lebanon to destroy the terrorist group.

On the subject: The International Court of Justice calls on Israel to prevent genocide in the Gaza Strip

Guterres issued a brief statement on September 2 immediately after the Iranian attack, calling it “the latest attack in the Middle East” and the conflict “escalation after escalation.”

He also criticized Israel for its actions in Gaza and the West Bank, saying that Israel "has carried out the most deadly and destructive military campaign in Gaza."

“The suffering endured by the Palestinian people in Gaza is beyond imagination,” Guterres said. “At the same time, the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate due to Israeli military operations.”

"Settlement construction, evictions, land grabs and increasing settler attacks [on Palestinians] are gradually undermining any possibility of a two-state solution. And at the same time, armed Palestinian groups are also resorting to violence," he concluded.

Israel criticized Guterres for failing to “unequivocally” condemn Iran’s attack or even name Iran when discussing the attack. Israel responded by declaring Guterres persona non grata, effectively banning him from entering the country.

“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s abhorrent attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil,” Katz said. “This is the Secretary General who has yet to condemn the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on October 7 [2023] or initiate any resolutions declaring them a terrorist organization.”

“A Secretary General who supports the terrorists, rapists and murderers of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and now Iran, the mother of global terror, will be remembered by future generations as a stain on the history of the United Nations,” he added. “Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres.”

Guterres appeared to get the message, telling council members: “As I did with respect to the Iranian attack in April – and as should have been clear yesterday in the context of my condemnation – I again strongly condemn Iran’s massive missile attack on Israel yesterday.”

Israel's decision to bar Guterres from entering has angered Algeria, which initially expressed "sincere gratitude... solidarity, admiration and support for the Secretary-General."

"This [Israel] decision reflects a clear contempt for the UN system and the entire international community," the Algerian representative noted. "For the Israeli authorities, there is no history or truth other than their own."

However, some permanent members of the council expressed clear support for Israel and condemned Iran for the attack, calling on Tehran to stop supporting terrorism through its proxy forces.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield “unequivocally” condemned Iran’s attack and called for further sanctions against Tehran. She directly linked Iran to the October 7 attack on Israel, claiming that “Iran was complicit… through funding, training and support for the military wing of Hamas.”

“After the horrific Hamas attack nearly a year ago, the United States sent a clear message to Iran: Do not exploit the situation in ways that could lead to a wider war in the region,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

“The IRGC, while encouraging and enabling the Houthis in Yemen to disrupt international shipping and carry out attacks on Israel, has flagrantly and repeatedly ignored this warning by supporting militant groups in Syria and Iraq,” she continued.

The IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] is an elite military force of Iran, created after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 to protect the Islamic regime and revolutionary values. The IRGC is distinct from the regular armed forces of Iran and has significant influence in the country's military, political, economic and social spheres. The organization plays a key role in Iran's foreign policy.

“Iran’s stated intent was to avenge the deaths of two IRGC-backed terrorist leaders and an IRGC commander by causing significant damage and loss of life in Israel,” the U.S. ambassador explained. “Fortunately, thanks to close cooperation between the United States and Israel, Iran was unable to achieve its goals.”

"This outcome does not detract from the fact that the attack, which was intended to cause significant death and destruction, marked a significant escalation by Iran," she said.

Britain also condemned Iran's attack and expressed "full support" for Israel "in exercising its right to self-defence against Iranian aggression."

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France called on Iran to "refrain from any action that could lead to further destabilization" and went further, condemning "the attack targeting civilians in Jaffa."

"The civilian population is the first victim of this terrible situation," the French representative said.

Iran eventually defended its position before the council, saying the Security Council "remained paralyzed due to obstruction by the United States." Iran accused permanent members France and Britain of acting as "serious accomplices" of Israel who "are trying to justify heinous Israeli crimes under the guise of self-defense, shifting the blame to Iran."

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