Split Between Israel And UN

Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said that his country would “deny entry visas to UN officials” following a speech by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, October 24.

In his speech to the UN, Guterres said, among other things, that it was also important to recognize the fact that “Hamas’s attacks on the Jewish state did not come out of the blue.” According to Guterres, “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.” However, Guterres also stressed that “the suffering of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks by Hamas. But even these horrific attacks cannot justify collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

The statements of the UN Secretary General caused a very sharp reaction from the Israeli authorities. “I will not meet with the UN Secretary-General. After October 7, there is no place for a balanced approach. Hamas must be wiped off the face of the earth,” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who is currently in New York for a meeting of the UN Security Council, wrote on the X social network (formerly Twitter).

In addition to the decision to refuse visas to UN representatives, Israel also announced that it intends to demand the resignation of Guterres. “A UN Secretary-General who sympathizes with a campaign of mass extermination of children, women, and the elderly is not fit to lead the UN. I suggest he resign immediately,” Ambassador Erdan also wrote on X. “There is no justification or point in speaking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people. There are simply no words,” the Israeli diplomat emphasized, recalling that “Israel has already denied a visa to Deputy Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths. “It’s time to teach them a lesson.”

And while politicians continue to argue, the bloody conflict in the Middle East is spreading like wildfire. Israel Defense Forces fighter jets again struck military infrastructure and mortar installations belonging to the Syrian army in response to launches on Israel on Tuesday, October 24.