U.N.’s Guterres Set to Arrive in Israel Next Week

Israel is preparing for a visit by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his first trip here as U.N. chief. The visit will take place next week. Guterres will spend three days in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and will meet with top officials, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. He will be accompanied by Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon

In Ramallah, he will meet PA chief Mahmoud Abbas and other top PA officials. Guterres will also visit Gaza, although it is not clear yet if he will meet with Hamas terrorists.

Among other things, Guterres will conduct a flyover of several regions of Israel, including the Gaza border area. The objective is to give Guterres a bird’s-eye view of the area, and to show the proximity of Hamas military installations to the Israeli border. Guterres will also speak at the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv, and visit Yad Vashem.

Danon praised Guterres for undertaking the visit. “It is significant that the U.N. Secretary-General is taking this trip on the background of ongoing efforts to legitimize Israel at the U.N. We hope to show the Secretary-General the true face of Israel, its amazing achievements and its contributions to the world, as well as the complicated reality and the many challenges we face in the politically stormy Middle East.”