UN blacklists Israeli entities over conflict sexual violence

Tos:

Islamabad:The United Nations has added Israeli entities to a blacklist of parties accused of sexual violence in conflict zones, prompting a fierce response from Israel.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, called the move a “political decision” and said it was disconnected from facts and reality.

The UN decision was revealed by Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon in a social media post.

“This is a political decision! Disconnected from the facts and reality!” Danon wrote, saying Israel had submitted evidence to refute the UN reports.

According to Israeli media, the Israeli Prison Service is among the entities added to the 2026 list, alongside other Israeli authorities. Other Israeli bodies have reportedly entered a monitoring framework for possible future inclusion.

Hamas already on UN blacklist

The UN list includes countries, armed groups and organizations accused of committing sexual violence in conflict zones. Hamas was added to the list in August 2025.

A country or armed group remains on the UN secretary-general’s list for at least one year.

The development follows reports by Pramila Patten, the UN secretary-general’s representative on sexual violence in conflict, who found reasonable grounds to believe Hamas committed rape and sexual violence during the October 7 massacre and against hostages in Gaza.

Israel says UN ignored evidence

Israel claims that after Hamas was added to the blacklist, heavy pressure was placed on the UN secretary-general to include Israel as well. 

In August 2025, UN Secretary-General António Guterres placed Israel “on notice” for possible inclusion, citing “significant concerns” over alleged patterns of abuse. Israel denies those allegations.

Over the past year, Danon and his delegation held several meetings with representatives of the Secretary-General and his team. Israel said it provided documents, data and detailed responses to claims raised in UN reports and drafts.

Israel also invited UN personnel to visit the country and sites of atrocities to examine what it called false claims. Despite that, Israel says Guterres chose to include Israeli entities on the list.

Israel freezes ties with UN secretary general’s office

In response, Israel announced it was freezing relations with the UN Secretary-General’s Office. It also cancelled Pramila Patten’s planned visit to Israel.

Israel said it would not maintain contact with the Secretary-General’s Office as long as António Guterres remains head of the UN. Guterres’ term ends on December 31, 2026.

A source close to the issue told The Jerusalem Post that Israel views the decision as Guterres’ “last hurrah” during the leadership contest to choose his successor.

Danon sharply condemned the decision.

“The UN Secretary-General has put Israel on the same blacklist as Hamas, ISIS, and the most depraved terrorist organizations in the world,” he told The Jerusalem Post.

“This is a moral disgrace and a complete collapse of any credibility left to the UN.” 

Danon said Israel cooperated with the UN, provided information and acted transparently. He accused Guterres of ignoring facts and continuing a campaign of “incitement and lies” against Israel.

“Anyone who is able to include Israel on the same list as Hamas terrorists and rapists has no sense of morality,” Danon said.

He also accused Guterres of justifying the October 7 massacre, whitewashing the involvement of UNRWA employees in the attack and pushing political accusations against Israel in the final months of his term.

UN decision comes amid fiscal crisis

The decision comes as the UN faces what has been described as the deepest liquidity crisis in its 80-year history. The organization is dealing with $1.56 billion in unpaid member state dues.

The listing also comes shortly after a controversial New York Times opinion article by journalist Nicholas Kristof.

Kristof’s article alleged a “pattern of widespread sexual violence” against Palestinian men, women and children by Israeli soldiers, settlers, Shin Bet interrogators and prison guards.

He wrote that there was no evidence Israeli leaders ordered rapes, but claimed the security system had created a culture in which sexual violence became one of Israel’s “standard operating procedures.”

Kristof said the article was based on conversations with 14 men and women who said they had been sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of security forces.

He cited one alleged prisoner who claimed Israel Prison Service officers forced objects into his rectum.

Another alleged prisoner from Gaza claimed he was held down, stripped naked, blindfolded and handcuffed before a dog was summoned and attempted to mount him.

Kristof also accused the United States of being complicit because American tax dollars support the Israeli security establishment.

Israel denounces op-ed as blood libel

Israel’s Foreign Ministry called the article “one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press.”

The ministry said the article inverted reality by turning Israel, whose citizens were victims of Hamas sexual crimes on October 7 and whose hostages were later subjected to sexual abuse, into the accused.

It said the article was part of a “false and well-orchestrated anti-Israel campaign” aimed at placing Israel on the UN blacklist.

The ministry also criticized The New York Times for publishing the op-ed while not publishing findings from Israel’s Civil Commission into Hamas’s sexual and gender-based violence during and after the October 7 massacre.

The two-year independent investigation found that sexual and gender-based violence was systematic, widespread and integral to the attack.

A source told The Jerusalem Post the New York Times article may have strengthened the UN’s ability to move ahead with the blacklist decision.

Israeli leaders condemn UN move

Several Israeli figures reacted angrily to the UN decision.

Benny Gantz, an Israeli politician and retired army general, said the UN had again shown itself to be “an anti-Semitic and hypocritical body suffering from severe moral blindness.”

He said what he called false accusations against the Israel Defense Forces and the State of Israel would not divert Israel from its path.

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s former ambassador to the UN, said the UN was “corrupt and distorted.”

He added that Israel’s government must stop failing to communicate and begin addressing the damage being done to the country internationally.