Israel-UN row erupts as Netanyahu REFUSES to grant visas to officials
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahi (left) and UN secretary general Antonio Guterres
GETTY
A row has erupted between Israel and the United Nations after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to grand visas to the organisation’s officials.
A plea to give UN officials visas was rejected after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appeared to suggest Hamas was not the only group to blame for the terror attack on 7 October.
He claimed the attack, which resulted in 1,400 deaths and around 200 Israelis being taken hostage, did not occur “in a vacuum”.
Israel’s envoy to the UN responded by saying it was “time to teach them a lesson”.
WATCH NOW: GB News discuss the feud between Israel and the UN
Gilad Erdan also argued Guterres' comments showed he was “not fit” to lead the organisation.
Guterres was forced to address his comments after saying Hamas' attack cannot justify the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.
During a press conference held today, he said: “I am shocked by misrepresentations by some of my statement yesterday in the Security Council - as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas.”
However, the comments sparked a major row between Israel and the UN.
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Israeli soldiers gather by military vehicles at Israel's border with Lebanon
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Erdan told Israel’s Army Radio station: “We have already refused to give one to Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths.”
He added: “It’s time to teach them a lesson.”
Guterres appeared keen to reassert his position on social media yesterday.
He said: “The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks by Hamas.
“Those horrendous attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes in Gaza, October 7
REUTERS
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Obviously we don’t agree with that characterisation put forward.
“We are clear that there is and can be no justification for Hamas’s barbaric terrorist attack which was driven by hatred and ideology.”
The spokesman also stressed that the UN “will continue to play an important role... and that is supported by the UK Government”.