Israel has announced that it is suspending its relations with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. The decision came after reports emerged suggesting that Israel could be placed on a UN “blacklist” over allegations of wartime sexual violence.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said on Thursday that Israel would no longer maintain relations with the current UN Secretary-General. In a video statement posted on X, he said: “Our work with this Secretary-General is over.”
Israel’s mission to the UN stated that, under this decision, communication with the Office of the Secretary-General will remain suspended until the end of António Guterres’s term on December 31, 2026.
Regarding the possibility of Israel being included on the blacklist, Danon said that accusing Israel of using sexual violence as a weapon of war is “outrageous.” He also accused the UN Secretary-General of drawing a false equivalence between Hamas and Israel.
He further referred to a UN report on wartime sexual violence that has not yet been published and is still under review by the concerned countries.
In an annual UN report released last August, it was warned that Israel could be included among parties suspected of or responsible for committing sexual violence in armed conflicts. Hamas was also named in the list.
The United Nations had previously stated that there were “credible reports” of sexual violence by Israeli security forces against Palestinian detainees, but UN investigators had not been granted access to prisons and other detention facilities.
Danon said Israel had invited UN representatives to investigate the allegations, but according to him, they continued what he described as an anti-Israel stance instead of traveling to Israel.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
