Israel blocks visa for top UN official

JERUSALEM, Israel (AFP) — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday said he had ordered the withdrawal of a senior United Nations (UN) humanitarian official’s residency permit, accusing him of spreading lies about the war in Gaza.

“I have instructed not to extend the residency permit of the head of the OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) office in Israel, Jonathan Whittall,” Saar wrote on X.

Whittall, a South African who lives in Jerusalem and frequently visits the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly condemned the humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people living in the Palestinian territory.

In April, he said that Gazans were “slowly dying” due to the effects of Israel’s war against Hamas militants.

Saar’s decision, which he said came after “biased and hostile conduct against Israel which distorted reality” and broke UN neutrality rules, is the latest taken against senior UN officials.

Since the war began in October 2023, Israel has made it harder to get visas for those working for OCHA, the UN human rights office OHCHR and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.