OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reinforced on Sunday his decision to declare UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata over what he described as a failure to condemn Iran’s missile attack and antisemitic and anti-Israel conduct.

On Oct. 2, Katz said that he was barring Guterres from entering Israel. He posted on X on Sunday that “Guterres can continue seeking support from UN member states, but the decision will not change.”

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described the initial announcement on Oct. 2 as political and “just one more attack, so to speak, on UN staff that we’ve seen from the government of Israel.” He said the UN traditionally does not recognize the concept of persona non grata as applying to UN staff.