Israel Denies UN Visa Extension, Rejects UN Entry Visa Request

Photo Credit: Shlomi Amsalem / Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen

Entry visas to the State of Israel for United Nations workers will no longer be granted as was the case prior to the war launched against Israel on October 7th by Gaza’s Hamas terrorist organization, according to a policy being implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat told JewishPress.com on Sunday evening that one employee of the UN Women agency who works in Israel will have to leave the country because Israel has declined to extend his visa.

“Because of the way that the UN has reacted to the October 7th massacre and since, starting from the Secretary-General to some of the agencies, including UN Women and others that kept silent to the suffering of Israelis — and especially the rape and the sexual abuse of Israeli women — we will not automatically issue visas to the employees of the UN, and will work on a case-by-case basis,” Haiat said.

The ministry also rejected an entry visa application by a second worker, he noted.

“This week we have decided not to extend the visa of one of the employees of the UN Women that works in Israel and not to issue a visa of another employee that wanted to visit Israel,” Haiat said.

UN Double Standard Slammed, Visas Withheld in October
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations said in October that Israel would no longer issue visas to UN officials. The decision to withhold visa approvals was discussed shortly after it became clear that the United Nations was once again employing its de rigeur double standard against Israel and offering support instead to Hamas in Gaza.

Israel Denying Visas to UN Officials as Furor Over Guterres’ Remarks Escalates

“Due to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’] remarks we will refuse to issue visas to UN representatives,” Erdan confirmed on October 25 to Galei Tzahal Army Radio. “We have already refused a visa for Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths,” the ambassador added.

UN Women’s Conduct ‘Disgraceful’
UN Women earned widespread scorn within Israel and abroad for its silence in the face of the brutal sexual abuse, rape and torture of Israeli women by Hamas terrorists during and following the October 7th invasion and massacre.

The agency finally issued a statement on December 1, making sure to extend moral equivalence between the Hamas atrocities and Israel’s military response to those attacks.

“We deeply regret that military operations have resumed in Gaza, and we reiterate that all women, Israeli women, Palestinian women, as all others, are entitled to a life lived in safety and free from violence,” the agency wrote. “We unequivocally condemn the brutal attacks by Hamas on Israel on 7 October. We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks. This is why we have called for all accounts of gender-based violence to be duly investigated and prosecuted, with the rights of the victim at the core.

“We continue to call for accountability for all acts of gender-based violence committed on and after 7 October, the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages, and a humanitarian ceasefire,” the agency wrote.

Not a single mention of the Hamas terrorists who perpetrated those atrocities.

TRIGGER WARNING. Graphic description of Hamas violence against women.

Warning: graphic description of sexual violence

These are just a few of the testimonies from first-responders and witnesses who were exposed to horrific acts of sexual violence against Israeli women on October 7th. #BelieveIsraeliWomen #NoExcuse pic.twitter.com/D3k6j7SeLP

— Israel ישראל ?? (@Israel) December 5, 2023
In response to the statement, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen slammed the agency and called on UN Women executive director Sima Bahous, a Jordanian national, to resign her post.

The conduct of UN Women, the UN Secretary-General, and other UN agencies since the October 7 massacre is disgraceful.

UN Women’s announcement was both feeble and late, coming after nearly two months of silence during which war crimes, crimes against humanity, and *gender-based…

— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) December 2, 2023
“The conduct of UN Women, the UN Secretary-General and other UN agencies since the October 7 massacre is disgraceful,
the minister wrote.

“UN Women’s announcement was both feeble and late, coming after nearly two months of silence during which war crimes, crimes against humanity, and *gender-based crimes carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization were ignored.”

A few days later, Cohen announced the withdrawal of a residence visa for UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lynn Hastings.

We will no longer be silent in the face of the bias of the UN!

I decided to revoke the residence visa to Israel of the UN “humanitarian” coordinator Lynn Hastings.

Someone who did not condemn Hamas for the brutal massacre of 1,200 Israelis, for the kidnapping of babies and the…

— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) December 5, 2023
“We will no longer be silent in the face of the bias of the UN!,” he declared in a post on the X social platform. “I decided to revoke the residence visa to Israel of the UN “humanitarian” coordinator Lynn Hastings.

“Someone who did not condemn Hamas for the brutal massacre of 1,200 Israelis, for the kidnapping of babies and the elderly and for the horrific acts of abuse and rape, and for using the residents of Gaza as human shields, but instead condemns Israel, a democratic country that protects its citizens, cannot serve in the UN and cannot enter Israel!”