Israel decides to freeze its relations with Guterres after being included in the 'sexual violence list'

The Israeli government officially announced the freezing of all its diplomatic relations with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, in an escalating move that reflects the depth of the crisis between Tel Aviv and the international organization. This decision came after Israel was included in the 'blacklist' of countries and organizations involved in practicing sexual violence during armed conflicts, which Israeli circles considered a crossing of red lines.

The Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Danny Danon, stated that his country will no longer cooperate with Guterres, describing the UN decision as 'purely political' and devoid of factual realities. Danon added in a post that equating Israel with organizations such as 'Hamas' and 'ISIS' on this list represents a moral failure for the international organization, stressing that Tel Aviv will wait for the election of a new Secretary-General in the coming months to change this approach.

For its part, Hebrew media revealed that this UN decision was not entirely surprising, as the Israeli Foreign Ministry had made strenuous efforts behind the scenes in recent weeks to obstruct this step. The 'Israel Hayom' newspaper indicated that diplomatic pressures failed to prevent the decision from being issued, which prompted the Israeli leadership to take punitive measures against the head of the United Nations.

The UN move is based on a series of field reports issued by international investigation committees and human rights organizations, which documented grave violations within Israeli detention centers. These documents included live testimonies of cases of rape and systematic sexual harassment suffered by Palestinian detainees, especially in the 'Sde Teiman' camp, which has become a symbol of legal and humanitarian violations since the beginning of the last aggression.

The reports were not limited to detention centers but also extended to documenting sexual assaults and intimidation practiced by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank. Sources reported that these assaults often occurred under security protection and included raiding homes and terrorizing women and children, which strengthened the position of international organizations demanding accountability for those responsible for these crimes.

In a related context, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, referred to a report prepared by the Norwegian Refugee Council, which highlights the increasing pace of sexual violence and intimidation in the Palestinian territories. The report confirmed that these practices have become a tool for pressure and forced displacement, which prompted international human rights bodies to raise their recommendations on the necessity of including Israel in international shame lists.

Observers believe that freezing relations with Guterres represents an Israeli attempt to escape international legal obligations and pressure the UN organization to change its standards. However, the shocking testimonies of torture and rape victims in Israeli prisons continue to exert significant moral and legal pressure on the international community, which puts relations between Tel Aviv and the United Nations at stake.

There will be no relations with the UN Secretary-General, and we will work to correct this mistake with the election of his successor.