[73246] Israel freezes its ties with the UN Secretary-General's office following a decision on sexual violence
Israel freezes its relations with the UN Secretary-General following a controversial decision
The State of Israel has announced its decision to cut all ties with the office of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, following the inclusion of Israel on the organization's blacklist regarding sexual violence in conflict zones, alongside terrorist organizations such as Hamas and ISIS. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as reported by NTD News Hebrew, this is a "shameful and absurd" decision that serves as further evidence of the UN's institutional hostility toward Israel and an attempt to create a "false symmetry" between the state's actions and the crimes of Hamas.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, stated firmly: "With the current UN Secretary-General - we are done." Danon argued that Israel had provided the organization with detailed evidence and documents and invited UN representatives to examine the reality on the ground, but according to him, they chose to ignore the facts in favor of a political narrative (according to Amit Segal and Roi Kais and Guy Elster).
The UN's decision comes against the backdrop of reports in the international media, including an investigation by the "New York Times," regarding allegations of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees. Roi Kais and Guy Elster noted that Israel reacted with outrage to the investigation, while casting doubt on the sources of information upon which the newspaper relied.
At the same time, protests were held in front of the UN building by about 30 heads of Israeli municipalities, who defined the organization's decision as "antisemitic and lacking any moral basis" (reported in 🎗️Israel News IL🎗️). On the internal political level, commentators such as Tamir Morag linked the international conduct to internal criticism of Israeli media outlets, claiming that internal publications influence Israel's diplomatic standing in the world.