Israel cuts ties with UN chief after inclusion on sexual violence offenders list

Jerusalem (TIP): Israel announced plans to cut ties with the leader of the United Nations in a largely symbolic move to protest its inclusion on an annual report about sexual violence in conflict zones.
“We are done with this UN Secretary-General,” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon in a statement Thursday, May 28, adding his country is freezing relations with the office of UN Secretary General a.
Israel remains a member of the United Nations and can interact with several of its bodies separately from the secretary general. However, being listed in the sexual violence report could have negative implications for member states, including for peacekeeping missions.
“The Secretary General’s door is figuratively and literally open to representatives of the Israeli mission,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Thursday. “We want to be able to dialogue and speak to all representatives that are in this building.”
Israel’s inclusion on the UN blacklist has sparked outrage in the country, which has historically had a strained relationship with top UN officials and the organization as a whole, over its policies in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Although Israel will likely continue technical cooperation with some UN agencies, the symbolism behind Tel Aviv suspending relations with the UN’s chief diplomat is unmistakable,” said Daniel Forti, who heads UN affairs at the International Crisis Group. “The decision is another crack in an already fractured relationship between the UN and the Israeli government.”
That friction only worsened after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas militants and the war that followed, with Israelis accusing the world body of bias and UN agencies repeatedly condemning the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israeli officials accused the UN’s main humanitarian agency in Gaza of providing cover for Hamas militants and have tried to dismantle the agency’s operations.
“This decision is yet another example of the UN’s long-standing, institutionalized hostility toward Israel,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.
Guterres had previously warned both Israel and Russia that they were in danger of being added to the infamous list. In a letter to Israel’s envoy to the UN last year, Guterres explained a UN report found “credible information of violations by Israeli armed and security forces, perpetrated against Palestinians in several prisons, a detention centre and military base.”
The Israeli mission to the UN denounced its inclusion on the list of offenders, saying Danon and the delegation held meetings with UN representatives to provide documents and data responding to the allegations and concerns raised by the secretary general last year.
“Despite this, the UN Secretary-General chose to advance a political decision and include Israel alongside Hamas and terrorist organizations,” said a statement from the mission.