Israel refuses to grant visas to UN officials after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sparked outrage with claims that the Hamas attacks ‘did not take place in a vacuum’

Israel refuses to grant visas to United Nations representatives after the organization’s head claimed the Hamas attacks “did not take place in a vacuum.”

As pressure mounts on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over his comments at yesterday’s Security Council, Israel’s envoy to the UN said it was “time to teach them a lesson.”

Mr Guterres sparked an angry backlash after saying that Hamas’ atrocities on October 7 cannot justify the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.

At a high-level meeting of the 15-member Security Council in New York, Guterres claimed that the 1,400 murders did not occur “in a vacuum.”

At a press conference today, Mr Guterres said he is “shocked” by the “misrepresentations” of his comments.

He said: ‘I am shocked by the misrepresentation in some of my statements yesterday in the Security Council – as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas.’

But Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said Guterres’ council speech meant he was “not fit” to lead the body.

But Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, said Mr Guterres’ council speech meant he was “not fit” to lead the body.

In response, he said Israel will “refuse to grant visas to UN representatives.”

Mr Erdan told the Israeli army radio station: ‘We have already refused to give one to Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths. It’s time to teach them a lesson.’

According to the Hamas-led Health Ministry, Israeli airstrikes have devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip, killing at least 6,500 Palestinians, including more than 2,700 children.

Mr Guterres had previously tried to walk back the comments, tweeting: “The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify Hamas’ heinous attacks.

“These terrible attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Downing Street today made it clear that Rishi Sunak also disagreed with Mr Guterres’ language.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: ‘It is clear that we do not agree with this characterization that has been put forward.

“We are clear that there is and cannot be any justification for Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack, which was driven by hatred and ideology.”

The spokesperson said the UN “will continue to play an important role as a body… and this is supported by the UK government.”

Immigration Secretary Robert Jenrick, a close ally of Sunak, suggested Guterres should “withdraw” the comments.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain program that the comments were “wrong” and that he should “withdraw” them if he was “suggesting that there is any justification for” the killing of 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians, by Hamas fighters on October 7. .