'Be quiet': Israeli envoy clashes with UN official at meeting
What's the story
A United Nations meeting in New York on Friday turned tense as Israel's ambassador and the UN Secretary-General's special representative for children and armed conflict had a heated exchange. The event was held to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. At the meeting, Israeli envoy Danny Danon called for Pramila Patten's resignation over her report that blacklisted Israel for alleged abuses, accusing her of bias, leading to the confrontation with official Vanessa Frazier.
Accusations made
Danon accuses Patten of bias, demands resignation
During the meeting, Reuters reported that Danon accused Patten of bias and demanded her resignation. He alleged she had succumbed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's "obsession with targeting Israel." Vanessa Frazier, another UN official and Guterres's representative for children and armed conflict, intervened by shouting a point of order. She asked Danon to stop "personal attacks" and claimed she had "verified evidence."
Diplomatic tensions
'You will be quiet now': Danon tells Frazier
In response to Frazier's interjection, Danon told her to "be quiet." He was quoted as saying, "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." This was after Frazier issued a report warning that Israeli settler groups might be added to a global blacklist for violations against children.
Report controversy
Tensions between Israel and UN escalate over conflict abuse allegations
Patten's report, released last month, was the first to blacklist Israel for alleged abuses. Danon had then called it "a new low," and Israel's foreign ministry threatened to sever ties with Guterres, who is due to leave office at the year-end after serving for 10 years. Both reports also blacklisted Hamas, Israel's arch enemy.