Israel bars UN secretary-general from entering country

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JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that he was barring U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because he had not “unequivocally” condemned Iran’s missile attack on Israel.

Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defences.

Guterres on Tuesday issued a brief statement after the missile attack condemning “the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.” Earlier on Tuesday, Israel had sent troops into southern Lebanon.

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said Guterres’ failure to call out Iran made him persona non grata in Israel.

“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as nearly all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil,” Katz said.

“Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without Antonio Guterres.”

Asked about the move at a press briefing, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: “Steps like these are not productive to (Israel) improving its standing in the world.”

“The U.N. does incredibly important work in Gaza. It does incredibly important work in the region. And the U.N., when it’s acting at its best, can play an important role for security and stability,” Miller added.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described the announcement as political and “just one more attack, so to speak, on U.N. staff that we’ve seen from the government of Israel.” He said the U.N. traditionally does not recognise the concept of persona non grata as applying to U.N. staff.

During a Security Council meeting on Wednesday Guterres said: “As I did in relation to the Iranian attack in April – and as should have been obvious yesterday in the context of the condemnation I expressed – I again strongly condemn yesterday’s massive missile attack by Iran on Israel.”