UN Secretary General António Guterres
Photo: Reuters
UN Secretary General Guterres to visit Israel in August
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, says that 'particularly because of the UN's discriminating treatment of Israel, it's important for the secretary general to see the complex challenges Israel is dealing with up close.'
UN Secretary General António Guterres will visit Israel in August, his first trip to the Jewish state since entering office.
During his visit, Guterres is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin. He will also be briefed by senior security officials, visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and visit the Palestinian Authority.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, who will accompany Guterres on his visit, said he was "looking forward to showing (Guterres) the true Israel, which is an island of prosperity and stability in the tumultuous Middle East."
Danon and Guterres at the UN.
"Particularly because of the UN's discriminating treatment of Israel, it's important for the secretary general to see the complex challenges Israel is dealing with up close, along with its great contribution to the world as an innovative and groundbreaking country in many fields," Danon added.
Earlier this month, Guterres raised ire in Israel with a special statement marking 50 years to the Six-Day War. Israel, he said, still occupies the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Syria's Golan Heights and the "occupation has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden" on Palestinians.
"Among them are generation after generation of Palestinians who have been compelled to grow up and live in ever more crowded refugee camps, many in abject poverty, and with little or no prospect of a better life for their children," Guterres said.
The UN chief asserted that "Ending the occupation that began in 1967 and achieving a negotiated two-state outcome is the only way to lay the foundations for enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty. It is the only way to achieve the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people."
"Now is not the time to give up on this goal," he urged. "Now is the time to return to direct negotiations to resolve all final-status issues on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, agreements and international law."
