Israel refuses to renew visa for senior UN humanitarian official over alleged anti-Israel bias

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has ordered that the visa of the head of the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jonathan Whittall, not be renewed, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

“As a result of biased behavior against Israel,” Sa’ar “ordered the termination of Whittall’s activity, and his residency permit will not be renewed,” according to the official.

Whittall, who resides in Jerusalem and divides his time between Jerusalem and Gaza, will conclude his position and leave Israel “in the near future,” the official says.

The official points to statements made by Whittall to reporters last month, when he said the conditions near aid distribution sites in Gaza are “created to kill,” and that “what we are seeing [in Gaza] is carnage. It is weaponized hunger. It is forced displacement. And it’s a death sentence for people just trying to survive.”

Visas for three leaders of UN agencies working in Gaza — OCHA, the human rights agency OHCHR, and UNRWA – have not been renewed in recent months, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed last week.

“Visas are not renewed or reduced in duration by Israel, explicitly in response to our work on protection of civilians,” Tom Fletcher, UN head of humanitarian affairs, told the UN last week at a meeting of the Security Council. Fletcher described conditions in Gaza as “beyond vocabulary,” and said Palestinians are being shot while trying to get food.

Israel’s UN mission responded that it is “looking into the issue” and criticized UN agencies like OCHA and UNRWA for abandoning neutrality, citing alleged bias and ties to Hamas.