The UN breeds impunity for international law violations. Never has this been more evident than in its attitude towards Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, defended at an international level through Israel’s own security narrative. It was not diplomats and UN officials who raised awareness of genocide, but the Palestinians themselves and the masses around the world, who awakened to the link between Israel, the UN, and political violence.

However, once Israeli violence threatened the UN’s structure, as well as that of its agencies, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres felt compelled to issue a rhetorical warning that reeked of hypocrisy. In December 2025, Israel prohibited the provision of basic services such as electricity, water, banking and telecommunications to UNRWA, leading Guterres to write to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The letter partly stated that there can be no UN indifference to  “actions taken by Israel, which are in direct........

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