The United Nations is supposed to be above the fray – a forum for and facilitator of peaceful resolutions or, at the least, the minimisation of harms. Yet for the last year, Israel has treated it as an inconvenience at best and adversary at worst.
UN peacekeepers are literally in the path of its offensive in Lebanon and are refusing to leave as it has urged. The Israel Defense Forces forcibly entered a base and have repeatedly fired on their positions, injuring five. Nearly 230 aid workers for Unrwa, which supports Palestinians, have been killed in Gaza. Earlier this month, Israel declared the UN’s secretary‑general, António Guterres, persona non grata. In May, its outgoing ambassador to the UN shredded a copy of the charter.
