Israel does not want to give visas to UN representatives after Guterres' criticism

2023-10-25 15:07:14

Israel has already denied entry to emergency aid coordinator Martin Griffith, Erdan told the Israeli army radio station on Wednesday. “It’s time we taught them a lesson.” Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Guterres said he was “shocked by the false representations.”

It was “as if I were justifying Hamas’ terrorist acts,” Guterres told journalists. This was wrong, he said of his statement from the previous day about the radical Islamists. “The opposite was the case.” He wants to put this right, especially out of respect for the victims and their families.

Guterres had criticized the Israeli counterattacks in the Gaza Strip and spoke of “clear violations of international humanitarian law”. Although he condemned the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, he said it “did not take place in a vacuum.” In this context, Guterres spoke of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

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Meanwhile, the head of the Arab League, Ahmed Abul Gheit, defended Guterres. The Egyptian diplomat described Israel’s criticism of Guterres as an “obvious attempt to terrorize.” According to a statement from the Arab League on Wednesday, the politician spoke of a “shameful attack aimed at silencing every voice that speaks the truth.” He called for the UN Secretary General to be supported.

On October 7, terrorists carried out massacres of civilians in Israel on behalf of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. More than 1,400 people died during and in the following days. Militants abducted more than 200 people in the densely populated coastal area. Since then, Israel’s military has been attacking targets there. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza, 5,791 Palestinians were killed as of Tuesday.