Israel declared UN Secretary-General António Guterres “persona non grata” and banned him from entering Israeli territory.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media that anyone who supports terrorists and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis and now Iran will be remembered by the world only as a stain on the history of the United Nations. Katz believes that anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn the Iranian attack on Israel does not deserve to enter Israel. The Foreign Minister noted that almost all countries of the world condemned the attack by the Persian state.
The Foreign Minister stated that Israel will protect its citizens now and in the future, and will preserve its national dignity and sovereignty, even without Antonio Guterres.
The Guardian adds to all of this that in October 2023, Guterres condemned the Israeli massacre committed by Hamas on October 7, which claimed the lives of 1,200 people, and stated that nothing could justify the deliberate killing and kidnapping of civilians. Guterres said at the time that the hostages should be treated humanely and released without conditions. The then UN Secretary-General also added that he believed it was important to know that the Hamas attacks did not occur in a vacuum, and that the Palestinian people had been subjected to Israeli occupation for 56 years. The latter's statement angered many of Israel's Western allies.
