Middle East | Israel declared the UN Secretary General a person not wanted – Researcher: “Typical”

Helsinki professor of Middle Eastern studies at the university Hannu Juusola considers that Israel’s decision to declare the UN Secretary-General a persona non grata is part of a decades-long continuum.

For Israeli politicians, the UN is a familiar target of criticism, and according to Juusola, the country’s current foreign minister is particularly squeamish.

“They are usually very aggressive towards all critics, especially if the critic is not in a strong position,” says Juusola.

He cites Israel’s decision as an example of this revoke the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats after Norway had recognized the state of Palestine.

According to Juusola, the UN’s reputation in Israel is not good.

“It’s easy to score political points by barking at it.”

of Israel foreign minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesdaythat the UN Secretary General António Guterres is the closest to this in Israel persona non gratathat is, his arrival in the country will not be tolerated.

According to Katz, Guterres had not condemned Iran’s latest missile attack on Israel in clear enough terms. The situation seems to be alive, as on Wednesday Guterres said he strongly condemned the Iranian attack.

The UN had a major role in the birth of the state of Israel.

In November 1947, the UN General Assembly passed resolution number 181, which proposed dividing Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state so that Jerusalem would remain an internationally governed enclave.

The Arab states opposed the resolution, but according to Juusola, they would have accepted an alternative text in which one common state would have been formed in the region. That option was not put to the vote.

Juusola has just familiarized himself with these stages of history, because of what he wrote of Israel’s history an expanded edition will appear soon.

According to Juusola, the resolution in question is still “extremely important” for Israel.

“In general, Israel has a negative attitude towards the UN General Assembly and says that its decisions are not binding, but this [päätöslauselman 181] Israel has always emphasized that it is important for their legitimacy.”

Jewish state supporters celebrate in the streets of Tel Aviv in November 1947 after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution proposing the partition of British-ruled Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Picture: Reuters

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“It is so typical that Israel rages at the various bodies of the UN.”

Hannula According to the report, cracks appeared between the UN and Israel soon after Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948.

One point of contention was the status of Jerusalem. The holy city of many religions did not become the kind of internationally governed area that was proposed in the UN resolution.

Israel also reacted negatively to the 1949 UN resolution number 194, which promises refugees the right of return. That resolution is important to the Palestinians.

Today, the target of Israel’s criticism is the UN organization responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, whose 12 employees Israel says he doubts it for involvement in Hamas’s attack on Israel a year ago.

Hannula according to the relationship with the UN is currently of very little practical importance to Israel as long as the United States supports Israel’s positions in the UN Security Council.

“It [YK] is mostly a thorn in the flesh and it involves internal politics, when [israelilais]politicians talk about the hostility of the UN.”

According to Hannula, it cannot be said that Israel has committed any special “parricide” by declaring the UN Secretary General unwelcome in the Jewish state from now on.

“No, I don’t see it that way. It is so typical that Israel rages at various UN bodies.”