United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres met with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Monday, following the UN chief’s visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and meeting with President Reuven Rivlin.
Guterres, who was greeted upon his arrival Sunday evening by Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, is on a three-day visit in the Jewish state as the UN and Israel attempt to “turn a new page” after decades of chilly relations.
During the meeting, Netanyahu expressed the hope that Guterres’ visit to Israel would herald a warming of relations between Israel and the UN.
Netanyahu also touched on the regional threats facing Israel, including Iran hegemony in the Levant.
“Iran is busy turning Syria into a base of military entrenchment and it wants to use Syria and Lebanon as warfronts against its declared goal to eradicate Israel,” Netanyahu told the UN Secretary-General.
“It is also building sites to produce precision-guided missiles towards that end in both Syria and in Lebanon. This is something Israel cannot accept. This is something the UN should not accept. And I intend to speak to you at great length about this, and other tasks that I believe are important for the makings of peace and security in the world."
The Prime Minister also chided the UN for its failure to act against the rampant anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement in the Arab world, including in the Palestinian Authority.
“The UN is mandated to pursue peace,” said Netanyahu, "but it allows Palestinian hate speech to flourish in its institutions.”