Israel booting top UN humanitarian official Hastings

Lynn Hastings, of Canada, United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the West Bank and Gaza, speaks during a news conference on May 23, 2021, in Gaza City. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Lynn Hastings, of Canada, United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the West Bank and Gaza, speaks during a news conference on May 23, 2021, in Gaza City. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says on X that he has canceled a visa for Lynn Hastings, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian territories, over her refusal to speak out against Hamas.

Hastings has been a vocal critic of Israel’s offensive in Gaza and has led appeals for increased humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Israel has consistently panned the UN for its response to Hamas’s atrocities on October 7, further straining an already frayed relationship.

According to Ynet, Cohen has given Hastings, who is based in East Jerusalem, two weeks to leave the country.

“Whoever does not condemn Hamas over the massacre of 1,200 Israelis, kidnapping of old people and babies, horific torture and rape, and the use of Gazans as human shields, but does condemn Israel, a democratic country that defends its citizens, cannot serve the UN and will not enter Israel,” Cohen writes on X.

The UN said last week that it was informed by Israel that Hastings’s visa would not be renewed when it expires later this month, according to Reuters.

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