Gambiaj.com – (NEW YORK, United States) – The United Nations has added Israel to its official blacklist of parties suspected of committing sexual violence in conflict zones, triggering a fierce diplomatic backlash from Tel Aviv and a dramatic decision by Israel to cut all ties with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon announced the break in a video posted on X on Thursday, declaring bluntly, “We are done with this secretary-general.”
The blacklisting appears in Guterres’ annual report on conflict-related sexual violence, a document that is customarily shared with relevant states before publication. As far back as last August, the UN had warned Israel that it risked being added to the list of parties suspected of, or responsible for, sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.
“The decision to blacklist Israel and accuse us of using sexual violence as a weapon of war is an outrageous decision,” Ambassador Danon said. “The secretary-general and his team continue to spread lies against Israel. To put us and Hamas terrorists on the same list, that’s unacceptable.”
The Israeli mission to the UN went further, announcing in an official statement that it will have no contact with the secretary-general’s office for as long as Guterres remains at the helm of the world body.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry also responded with sharp condemnation. Spokesperson Oren Marmorstein described the decision as “shameful and absurd,” saying in a post on X that it was “further proof of the UN’s true nature: a politicized and corrupt organization that has abandoned its founding principles and systematically targets Israel as its primary mission.”
Guterres’ spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, acknowledged Danon’s remarks but signaled that the UN chief had no intention of retreating. “For our part, the secretary-general’s door remains open,” Dujarric said.
A Pattern of Alleged Abuse
The blacklisting does not arise in a vacuum. As far back as last August, the UN cited “credible information” regarding sexual violence committed by Israeli security forces against Palestinian detainees held in prisons and other detention centers and noted that UN inspectors had been denied access to those facilities.
Danon disputed this, saying Israel had extended an invitation to UN representatives to visit and verify the allegations. “We invited the representative of the UN to come to Israel to check those ridiculous allegations. They chose not to come,” he said.
However, Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, particularly those taken from Gaza during Israel’s ongoing war since 2023, have long spoken of suffering ddehumanizingtreatment at the hands of guards and soldiers, including torture and sexual violence.
International human rights organizations say these testimonies form part of a broader, systematic pattern rather than isolated incidents.
A report released last month by the West Bank Protection Consortium added further weight to these concerns, finding that sexual violence and other forms of gender-based abuse perpetrated by Israeli settlers and soldiers were among the factors driving Palestinians to flee the occupied West Bank.
The alleged abuses have also reportedly extended beyond Palestinian nationals. Freed activists aboard a recent Gaza-bound aid flotilla, intercepted in international waters, say they were subjected to abuse during Israeli detention, with at least 15 separate cases of sexual assault or rape reported among those held.
Earlier this month, Israel also rejected rape allegations detailed in a widely read column by veteran New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, whose reporting drew on the accounts of 14 Palestinian victims, both male and female. The Israeli government responded by announcing the extraordinary step of pursuing legal action against the paper.
A Diplomatic Relationship in Freefall
Relations between Israel and the United Nations have been in a state of serious deterioration since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, the event that preceded Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which the UN and several international bodies have characterized as a genocidal war. The conflict has now claimed more than 72,000 Palestinian lives.
Israeli authorities have repeatedly criticized Guterres and senior UN officials for their condemnation of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. The relationship reached a symbolic low in 2024 when Israel officially declared Guterres “persona non grata,” effectively banning him from entering the country.
The latest rupture marks yet another grim milestone in what has become one of the most strained relationships between a UN member state and the world body’s leadership, one with profound implications for diplomacy, accountability, and the protection of civilians in one of the world’s most watched and most deadly conflicts.
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