Israel Rejects Entry For UN Top Official Citing Gaza Remarks

Israel has moved to expel a top United Nations humanitarian official, accusing him of distorting the realities of its military campaign in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on Sunday that he had ordered the termination of Jonathan Whittall’s residency permit. Whittall, a South African national heading the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Israel, resides in Jerusalem and frequently travels to the Gaza Strip.

Taking to X to announce the decision, Saar wrote, “I have instructed not to extend the residency permit of the head of the OCHA office in Israel, Jonathan Whittall,” accusing him of spreading what he described as falsehoods about Israel’s actions.

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Whittall has been a vocal critic of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, home to over two million Palestinians. In April, he warned that people there were “slowly dying” under the relentless impact of Israel’s military offensive against Hamas.

Saar defended the expulsion, claiming Whittall had shown “biased and hostile conduct against Israel which distorted reality” and violated UN neutrality standards. His removal adds to a series of moves by Israel targeting senior UN staff since the war erupted in October 2023. Authorities have tightened visa restrictions for personnel with OCHA, the UN human rights office (OHCHR), and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), further straining relations with international humanitarian bodies.

Africa Today News, New York