Israel set to bar anti-Israel UN official from the country

Israeli foreign ministry moves to deny visa extension for the representative of the UN humanitarian affairs office, citing the agency’s history of anti-Israel bias.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel is poised to force a senior United Nations official with a history of anti-Israel remarks out of the country, the UN announced last week.

On Friday, Eri Kaneko, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that Israel has refused requests to issue a visa extension for Jonathan Whittall, head of the OCHA’s operations in Israel.

“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,” Kaneko said.

“This came immediately after remarks he made at a press briefing about starving people being killed while trying to reach food.”

Whittall and other senior OCHA officials have come under fire recently for their comments on Israel and the war against the Hamas terror organization, with Whitall accusing Israel of imposing “conditions” in Gaza “created to kill,” and claiming Israel has “weaponized hunger” while imposing a “death sentence” on Gaza civilians “just trying to survive.”

The OCHA chief, UN Undersecretary-General Thomas Fletcher, faced widespread criticism in May after he falsely claimed that 14,000 infants in the Gaza Strip would die over the course of two days as a result of limits on humanitarian aid transfers.

According to a report by Israel Hayom, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar pushed for Whittall to be denied a visa extension.

As a result of the decision, Whittall will be forced to leave the country at the end of August.

Kaneko also said that even in the cases of OCHA workers granted visa extensions, the new permits were for shorter periods of time than usual, adding that requests to visit Gaza have been rebuffed.