New York, United States. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday that the country had been added to a U.N. blacklist of sexual violence in conflict zones, alongside Hamas. Danny Danon called the move a political decision and said it was disconnected from the facts and reality.
U.N. report
Danon said he was informed in a phone call with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to a post on X by the Israeli mission to the U.N. The report is due to be published soon.
In Guterres’ annual report to the Security Council on conflict-related sexual violence, published in August last year, he put Israel and Russia on notice that they could be added this year to the list of parties credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence.
The U.N. in Geneva and Hamas did not immediately respond on Friday to Reuters requests for comment.
Israel’s response
In a separate post on Thursday, Danon said equating Israel with Hamas marked a new low. He said Israel had responded in detail to each allegation and had invited U.N. representatives to visit and examine the situation, but that they had chosen not to do so.
Israel’s foreign ministry said late on Thursday that it would sever all ties with Guterres.
“Given that Antonio Guterres has chosen to violate every standard of honesty, integrity and professionalism, Israel has decided to sever all ties with the Secretary-General’s Office and will wait until a new U.N. Secretary-General is appointed,” the ministry posted on X.
U.N. reaction
Asked about Danon’s comments at a regular briefing on Thursday, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the Secretary-General’s door remained open to Israeli representatives, as to the other 192 member states and the two observer states.
Guterres’ warning in August followed significant concerns regarding patterns of certain forms of sexual violence that had been consistently documented by the United Nations.
At the time, Danon dismissed the concerns as baseless.
