Israel bans UN chief Guterres from entering the country, declares him/her persona non grata

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the country has declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata and banned him/her from entering Israel.

Katz said that anyone who cannot condemn Iran’s attack on Israel is not entitled to enter Israel. he/she said that Guterres has not yet condemned the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7. he/she said Israel will continue to protect its citizens and maintain its national dignity with or without Guterres.

In a post on X, Katz said, “Today, I have declared UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres persona non grata in Israel and banned him/her from entering the country. Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil.”

“This is a Secretary-General who has yet to condemn the massacres and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas’ killers on October 7, nor has he/she led any effort to declare them a terrorist organization. A Secretary-General who supports the terrorists, rapists and murderers of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and now Iran, the mother power of global terror, will be remembered as a stain on the history of the United Nations. “With or without Antonio Guterres, Israel will continue to protect its citizens and uphold its national dignity.”

Reacting to the development, Israel’s Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson Alex Gandler said UN chief Guterres has not been helpful in any way during Israel’s conflict with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.

Speaking to ANI, he/she said, ‘Our Foreign Minister has called the UN Secretary General persona non grata. One reason for this is that the Secretary General has not been helpful in any way during our conflict with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. Not only this, unfortunately last night itself instead of condemning Iran’s actions, he/she stood up for them several times. “he/she wished for this wonderful… peace in the Middle East rather than pointing the finger at the exact culprit, who was Iran’s firing on civilians in Israel.”

Earlier on Tuesday night, in response to Iran’s rocket attack on Israel, the UN chief had said, “I condemn the increase in conflict and increasing tension in the Middle East. This must stop. We desperately need a ceasefire…”

The turmoil in West Asia escalated when Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles toward targets in Israel and the United States military coordinated with the Israeli Defense Forces to help defend Israel against the attack.

US Navy destroyers joined Israeli air defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down the incoming missiles. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Iran’s missile attack on his/her country a “big mistake” and said “Tehran will have to pay a price.”

“Iran made a big mistake today and will have to pay the price for it. The Iranian regime does not understand our resolve to defend ourselves and our determination to take revenge on our enemies,” he/she said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman, R.A.D.M. Daniel Hagari described Iran’s attack as a “serious and dangerous escalation”.

“There will be consequences. Regarding Iran’s large-scale attack, Hagari said, we will respond wherever, whenever and however we choose, in accordance with the instructions of the Israeli government.

On Wednesday, Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, spoke with Gen. Michael Eric Kurila, commander of CENTCOM, about the current situation.