Israel: entry ban for UN Secretary-General Guterres
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, whose term in office last until the end of 2025, is unwelcome in Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has declared him persona non grata, effectively banning him from entering the country. In his reaction to Iran's ballistic missile attack, Guterres neither mentioned Tehran by name nor condemned it unequivocally, simply referring to 'escalation after escalation'. Commentators also see this as a blunder.
Failure instead of condemnation
Unian finds Israel's decision perfectly understandable:
“This is a demonstrative step meant to show that the head of this international organisation does not comply with the principles and foundations for which the UN was created, namely to prevent wars. Because there can be no talk of that if the organisation is not even willing to call the aggressor the aggressor. ... The UN is clearly attempting to maintain a semblance of neutrality, even though there are clear signs of aggression on Iran's part. The UN Charter clearly defines what the aggressor is due: full condemnation. Yet the UN is acting as if it doesn't know who is firing missiles at Israel. A very familiar situation for Ukraine.”
His successor must have more grit
News website +Portal gives António Guterres bad marks:
“The secretary-general often seems to have problems with the way his words are interpreted. It's as if he were unable to express his thoughts in English with the necessary clarity. Whether his words are just empty excuses concealing apathy and a sense of helplessness is something Guterres himself knows best. In any case, he is making it increasingly clear that his successor must be younger and more determined, and above all, have the courage to condemn crimes when they are committed - regardless of who is the perpetrator and who the victim. Unfortunately, Guterres is not up to the task.”