Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon loses his temper in an interview with a UN official
A UN hearing on the plight of children affected by the Gaza conflict turned into a heated confrontation on Friday, with Israel’s ambassador accusing the UN leadership of unfairly targeting the country.The tense dispute erupted at the United Nations headquarters in New York during an event marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon used the forum to attack recent UN reports that placed Israel on global blacklists for alleged child abuse and conflict-related sexual violence.Addressing the gathering, Danon called for the resignation of Pramila Patten, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, whose office last month added Israel to a blacklist of alleged conflict-related sexual violence violations for the first time.Danon said: “I have surrendered to the Secretary-General’s obsession with targeting Israel,” directing his criticism to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres.
The remarks sparked an immediate boycott from Vanessa Fraser, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, who raised a point of order and objected to what she described as personal attacks against UN officials.Fraser defended her office’s findings, insisting they were based on “verified evidence.”
The dispute quickly escalated into a screaming fight.Danon responded: “We are a member state, and you work in the United Nations, and you will be calm now. You will be calm… you and your shameful report.”This week, Fraser’s office issued a report warning that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for committing grave violations against children. The report was accompanied by Guterres’s warning of an “astonishing” increase in violations against Palestinian children amid the ongoing conflict.
Reuters reported that reports of child and sexual violence also include Hamas among the parties accused of committing violations.Israel already appears in the report’s so-called “List of Shame” annexes, which identify parties accused of committing serious violations against children in armed conflict.The latest clash comes within the context of a broader deterioration in relations between Israel and the United Nations. After the publication of the Patten report last month, Danon described the findings as a “new low,” while the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced plans to sever ties with Guterres before his term ends later this year.
