---

Israel Severs Ties With UN Chief’s Office Over Placement on Same Sexual Violence Blacklist as Hamas

Ailin Vilches Arguello

---

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the UN headquarters in New York City, US, before a meeting about the conflict in Gaza, Nov. 6, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

Israel announced on Thursday that it was suspending ties with the United Nations Secretary-General’s office after Israeli entities were added to a UN blacklist on conflict-related sexual violence.

The UN’s decision ignited fierce backlash from Israeli officials who accused the global body of anti-Israel bias and placing the Jewish state alongside terrorist organizations such as Hamas.

According to Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, the Israeli mission would have “no further contact” with the Secretary-General’s office for as long as António Guterres continues to lead the organization.

“We are done with the Secretary-General’s lies. Equating the democratic State of Israel with Hamas terrorists is a new low. Israel protects its citizens while Hamas massacres, rapes, and kidnaps,” the Israeli diplomat wrote in a post on X.
.

Over the past few months, Israel engaged in repeated exchanges with UN representatives, submitting documents, data, and detailed responses challenging allegations linked to the UN blacklist on conflict-related sexual violence, as it sought to dispute the findings and put forward its position.

Israel had also invited UN personnel to visit the country and relevant sites to assess independently what it described as unfounded allegations.

However, the UN still decided to include Israeli entities on the blacklist alongside Hamas and other terrorist organizations, citing what it described as “significant concerns” over alleged patterns of abuse — accusations Israel vehemently rejects.

Danon blasted the move as a shocking moral failure, accusing the UN of placing Israel alongside some of the world’s most brutal terrorist groups.

“This is a moral disgrace that proves Guterres has lost all credibility. It is a political decision, disconnected from facts and reality,” the Israeli diplomat said.

“When the facts do not fit the narrative, the UN simply rewrites it. We will continue defending the truth and exposing blood libels in every possible forum,” he continued.

The latest annual UN report on sexual violence in conflict zones has not yet been released, though last year’s report listed Hamas among the “parties credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.”

The UN added Hamas to the blacklist after an investigation concluded the Palestinian terrorist group carried out systematic sexual violence during its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

“Anyone able to include Israel on the same list as the terrorists and rapists of Hamas has no moral standing to seek cooperation,” Danon said.

Guterres is set to complete his term at the end of the year, with no successor yet chosen as the official selection process is underway and expected to produce a recommendation later this year.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel’s relationship with Guterres has spiraled downward, reaching a low point last year when then-Foreign Minister Israel Katz labeled the UN “antisemitic and anti-Israeli” and declared Guterres persona non grata after the top UN official failed to condemn Iran for its ballistic missile attack against the Jewish state.

---

---