Clash at UN hearing: Israeli envoy, officials trade heated accusations

Diplomatic tensions erupted at the United Nations on June 19 when Israel’s ambassador and senior U.N. officials engaged in a heated exchange during a public hearing in New York marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

The confrontation involved Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, and two senior U.N. officials responsible for reports on children and armed conflict, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

Danon called for the resignation of Pramila Patten, the U.N. Secretary-General’s special representative for sexual violence in conflict, accusing her of bias over a report that for the first time included Israel on a blacklist for alleged abuses.

“You caved to the secretary-general's obsession with targeting Israel,” Danon said, referring to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

Tensions escalated when Vanessa Frazier, the U.N. special representative for children and armed conflict, interrupted the exchange to raise a point of order, urging Danon to avoid personal attacks.

She responded that she had “verified evidence.”

Danon then replied: “We are a member state, and you work for the U.N., and you will be quiet now. You will be quiet ... you and your shameful report.”

Frazier, who previously served as Malta’s ambassador to the United Nations, recently issued a report warning that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children. The report also highlighted what Secretary-General Guterres described as a “staggering” rise in violations affecting Palestinian children.

Israel is already listed in the U.N.’s “list of shame” annexes for violations, alongside Hamas, which is also included in the reports.

Danon had previously described the earlier findings as “a new low,” while Israel’s foreign ministry has said it would reconsider its engagement with the U.N. leadership in response to the reports.

By Sabina Mammadli