UN chief to visit Israel in August

Guterres will visit Israel in August. It will be his first trip to the Jewish state since assuming his UN leadership position.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres will visit Israel in August. It will be his first trip to the Jewish state since assuming leadership of the world body on January 1.

Guterres will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin, receive briefings from senior security officials, and visit Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, who will accompany Guterres , said he was “looking forward to showing [Guterres] the true Israel, which is an island of prosperity and stability in the tumultuous Middle East.”

“Particularly because of the UN’s discriminating treatment of Israel, it’s important for the secretary-general to see the complex challenges Israel is dealing with up close, along with its great contribution to the world as an innovative and groundbreaking country in many fields,” Danon added, according to a report by Israel’s Yedioth Ahronot daily.

In early June, Guterres expressed concern over Israel’s “occupation” in the disputed territories on the 50th anniversary of the start of the Six-Day War. However, Guterres has also condemned critics of Israel as anti-Semites and affirmed Jerusalem’s Jewish roots.

He is also scheduled to meet with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

By: JNS.org and World Israel News