Israel is “done” with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, its UN envoy said, after an Israeli institution was named to a blacklist of countries and groups that have committed sexual violence in conflict zones.
The Israeli Prison Service has been added to this year's list, and other institutions have entered a monitoring framework for the possibility of future inclusion. Hamas and ISIS are also on the list.
“We are done with this UN Secretary General,” Danny Danon said. He added that Israel had appeared on the list alongside “the most depraved terrorist organisations in the world”.
“This is a moral disgrace that proves that Guterres has lost all credibility,” he said.
The Israeli mission to the UN said it would have “no contact” with the Secretary General's office as long as Mr Guterres leads it.
“Over the past year, Israel's ambassador to the UN and the Israeli delegation held a series of meetings with UN representatives and provided documents, data, as well as a detailed response to all the allegations that were raised,” the mission said.
“Despite this, the UN Secretary General chose to advance a political decision and include Israel alongside Hamas and terrorist organisations.”
Mr Guterres last year put Israel on notice about the possibility of inclusion. In a letter to Mr Danon, the Secretary General said he was “gravely concerned” about reports of abuse against Palestinians by the Israeli military and security forces in several prisons, a detention centre and a military base.
