Israel’s ambassador in Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, has disclosed that her country never categorically rejected issuing visas to United Nations officials.
The comments come after Israel accused UN chief Antonio Guterres of bias and demanded his resignation for saying the Hamas attacks did not “happen in a vacuum.
Shahar however confirmed UN aid chief Martin Griffiths was in Israel along with other officials including Han Kluge, the regional head of the World Health Organization.
Speaking before the 15-member UN Security Council on Tuesday, Guterres pleaded for civilians to be protected and warned that the fighting risked a wider conflagration in the region.
“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” Guterres said.
“But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. and those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he added.
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