Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesday that he has declared United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as an “undesirable personality” and banned him from entering Israel.
“I decided today to declare UN Secretary-General António Guterres an undesirable personality in Israel and to ban his entry into Israel,” Katz said in a post on X.
The decision stems from Guterres’ response to Iran’s missile attacks on Israel on Tuesday night. Katz criticised the UN chief for failing to “unequivocally condemn Iran’s criminal attack on Israel” in his statement on Tuesday.
“Anyone who is unable to unequivocally condemn Iran’s criminal attack on Israel, as almost all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israel’s soil,” he said.
While Guterres did issue a statement condemning the “broadening of the Middle East conflict” and calling for a cease-fire, he did not directly mention or condemn Iran’s missile strikes against Israel.
“I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,” he said in a post on X late Tuesday.
This move represents a major escalation in the long-running tensions between Israel and Guterres. The UN chief has previously drawn criticism from Israel, such as when he suggested that Hamas’ attack on October 7 last year “did not happen in a vacuum,” and for his repeated denunciations of the Israeli military’s killings of civilians in Gaza.
In his announcement, Katz stated, “Israel will continue to protect its citizens and maintain its position and national honour with or without António Guterres.”
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