UN Security Council backs Guterres after Israel bars him from country

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday (October 3, 2024) expressed its full support for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after Israel’s foreign minister said he was barring him from entering the country.

The 15-member council said in a statement that “any decision not to engage with the U.N. Secretary-General or the United Nations is counterproductive, especially in the context of escalating tensions in the Middle East.”

The statement did not name Israel. Such statements by the council are agreed by consensus.

Israel’s Foreign Minister said on Wednesday (October 2, 2024) 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.

Mr. Guterres on Tuesday (October 1, 2024) issued a brief statement referencing only the “latest attacks in the Middle East” and condemning the conflict “with escalation after escalation”. Earlier on Tuesday (October 1, 2024), Israel had sent troops into south Lebanon.

Earlier Wednesday (October 2, 2024) Israel declared Mr. Guterres “persona non grata” as they think he didn’t specifically condemn Iran’s missile attack when he condemned on Tuesday the “broadening conflict in the Middle East.”

UN chief Antonio Guterres called on Wednesday (October 2, 2024) for an end to the “sickening cycle of escalation” in the Middle East, while specifically condemning Iran over its latest missile attack after facing harsh criticism from Israel.