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Israel is breaking all contact with United Nations chief António Guterres, the country’s ambassador announced on Thursday, saying it was “outrageous” Israel is being blacklisted over alleged sexual violence in conflict zones.
“We are done with this secretary-general,” Ambassador Danny Danon said in a video posted on X.
“The decision to blacklist Israel and accuse us of using sexual violence as a weapon of war is an outrageous decision,” he said, referring to an upcoming report from Guterres’ office.
“The secretary general and his team continue to spread lies against Israel. To put us and Hamas terrorists on the same list, that’s unacceptable.”
Israel’s foreign ministry called the country’s inclusion on the UN sexual violence list “shameful and absurd.”
The move “is further proof of the UN’s true nature: a politicised and corrupt organisation that has abandoned its founding principles and systematically targets Israel as its primary mission,” ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said on X.
The Israeli mission to the UN said in a statement it will have no contact with the secretary general’s office as long as Guterres remains in the role.
A spokesman for Guterres, whose term as UN chief ends on 31 December, said the office was aware of Danon’s remarks.
“For our part, the secretary general’s door remains open,” the spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said.
The UN secretary general’s annual report on conflict-related sexual violence is customarily presented to relevant states ahead of publication.
Last August, the report warned Israel could be added to the list of parties suspected of, or responsible for, sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.
Militant group Hamas appears on the list for allegations of sexual violence committed during the group’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, along with alleged abuse of hostages.
The UN cited “credible information” regarding sexual violence allegedly committed by Israeli security forces against Palestinians in prisons and other detention centres, saying UN inspectors had been denied access to the facilities.
“We invited the representative of the UN to come to Israel to check those ridiculous allegations. They chose not to come,” Danon said.
Relations between the UN and Israel have reached an all-time low since Hamas’ unprecedented 2023 attack that triggered Israel’s war on Gaza.
Israeli authorities have reproached Guterres and other UN officials for criticising devastating Israeli strikes on Gaza. The UN chief was declared “persona non grata” in Israel in 2024.
Israel has also accused employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, of participating in the 2023 attack.
Additional sources • AFP