UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has reportedly offered a post of deputy secretary-general to former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni.
According to the Haaretz daily, Livni, who now heads the Hatnua Party and is number-two on the Zionist Union faction in the Knesset, was asked to join the world body by Guterres himself in a phone call over the weekend.
Her appointment would have to be approved by the UN Security Council.
The offer comes amid a row at the UN over the proposal to name former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad the organization’s envoy on the Libya conflict.
Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (left) with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (photo credit: Issam Rimawi/Flash90)
The US has blocked the appointment at the request of Israel’s ambassador Danny Danon. Israel and the US reportedly fear the appointment of Fayyad, a former World Bank economist, is meant as a further signal of recognition for Palestinian statehood. The UN General Assembly voted to recognize a Palestinian state in 2012, granting Palestine the status of non-member observer state.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, clasps hands with UN Secretary-General designate Antonio Guterres after Guterres was sworn in at UN headquarters, Dec. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
According to Haaretz, the offer to appoint Livni is meant as a quid pro quo, and would mark the highest-ever position attained by any Israeli at the UN in exchange for the US allowing Fayyad’s appointment through.
The offer is still in the works, the report suggested. Livni’s office told Haaretz that “no official offer has been received.”
Livni and Guterres have met twice in New York over the past three weeks.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
