By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Israel’s foreign minister announced on Wednesday that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been declared “persona non grata” and barred from entering Israel.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused Guterres of bias, citing his failure to condemn Iran’s recent attack on Israel.
“Today, I have declared UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres persona non grata in Israel and banned him from entering the country,” Mr Katz said in a statement on X.
“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil.
“This is an Israel-hating Secretary-General, who gives support to terrorists,” he said.
The decision may likely widen the frosty relations between Israel and the United Nations, amid rising tensions in the region.
Heritage Times HT reports that Guterres issued a statement on Tuesday referencing only the “latest attacks in the Middle East” and condemning the conflict “with escalation after escalation”.
Israel, which puts the number of missiles fired at its territory at 180, bombarded Lebanese strongholds of Iran’s ally, Hezbollah, in south Lebanon with heavy strikes early on Wednesday.
World leaders have urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink after Tehran’s attack.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday’s attack was in response to Israel’s killing last week of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, as well as the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a Tehran bombing in July, widely blamed on Israel.
The attack also sought to avenge Israel’s killing of leading Iranian commander Abbas Nilforoushan of the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations arm.
