A UN spokesperson unveiled on Friday that Israel has refused to renew the visa for Jonathan Whittall, the senior UN aid official for the occupied Palestinian territories, according to The Washington Post.
Eri Kaneko also noted that there were growing threats of reduced access to suffering civilians.
“Last week, it was indicated to us that our current Head of Office, Jonathan Whittall, won’t have his visa extended by Israeli authorities beyond August. This came immediately after remarks he made at a press briefing about starving people being killed while trying to reach food,” Kaneko said.
He added that Isarel has recently renewed visas for UN staff for shorter periods than usual. Meanwhile, it denied access requests to Gaza for multiple agencies. Moreover, Israel withheld permits for Palestinian staff to enter East Jerusalem.
Israel has been under growing criticism from the UN during its war in Gaza that has internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and caused one of the worst humanitarian crises worldwide.
Call for Abolishing Investigation Body
In a response, Israel has urged the UN Human Rights Council to abolish the commission of inquiry into human rights violations in the Palestinian territories and Israel, according to Reuters. It also accused the council of bias and discrimination.
In the message sent on Wednesday, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Daniel Meron, said The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, discriminated against his country.
Israel has repeatedly criticized findings by the UN-mandated commission, that has denounced the Israeli military’s actions since it has launched its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023.
Council spokesperson Pascal Sim said that Council President Jurg Lauber had already received the letter, but it would be up to the Council’s 47 members to abolish the commission.
In March, the commission concluded that Israel had carried out “genocidal acts” against Palestinians during its war in Gaza.
Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 137,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
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