Danon Announces, ‘No Contact’ With UN Chief’s Office After Israel’s Inclusion on Sexual Violence Blacklist
By The Media Line Staff
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, announced that Israel would suspend contact with UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ office after Israel was added to a UN blacklist of countries and entities accused of using sexual violence in conflict zones.
Danon said the Israeli mission would have “no further contact” with the secretary-general’s office for as long as Guterres remains in his position.
“This is a moral disgrace that proves Guterres has lost all credibility,” Danon said, criticizing the decision to place Israel “on the same blacklist as Hamas, ISIS [Islamic State], and the most barbaric terrorist organizations in the world.”
According to the report, the Israeli Prison Service will appear on the UN’s 2026 list, while additional Israeli authorities will remain under monitoring for possible inclusion in future reports.
Under UN procedures, countries and armed organizations listed by the secretary-general remain on the blacklist for at least one year. Hamas was added to the list in August 2025.
The UN blacklist addresses allegations of sexual violence in conflict zones and includes both state actors and nonstate armed organizations accused of committing such acts.
In March, 2024, Pramila Patten, the UN secretary-general’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, reported “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas committed rape and sexual violence during the October 7 massacre and during the captivity of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Israeli officials told Ynet that pressure increased on Guterres to include Israel after Hamas was added last year. The officials accused the UN chief of yielding to political pressure during the final months of his term.
Benny Gantz, the Israeli politician and former army general, described the report as “antisemitic and hypocritical,” saying the United Nations had fallen into “moral blindness.”
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations, also accused the organization of bias, calling it “corrupt and distorted.”
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