Danon Criticizes UN Visit Summary for Naming Jerusalem Without Israel

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, criticized UN Peacekeeping on Saturday evening, November 7, for describing a regional visit by naming Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Jerusalem without naming Israel. His Hebrew-language statement tagged both the organization and Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN under-secretary-general for peace operations. Danon challenged the wording of the visit summary and wrote: “Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.” He attached a screenshot of a UN Peacekeeping post describing Lacroix’s recently concluded regional tour. The screenshot lists the same three countries and Jerusalem, while presenting the visit as an expression of the UN’s commitment to regional peace and stability. The UN’s own account of the visit, published on October 29, names Lebanon, Syria, Jerusalem and Jordan. It says Lacroix visited peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and Syria, thanked Jordanian officials for their longstanding support and contributions of troops and police, and met UN Truce Supervision Organization leadership and staff at its headquarters in Jerusalem. In Syria, the account says Lacroix met the leadership of the UN Disengagement Observer Force. That mission supervises disengagement between Israeli and Syrian forces under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and monitors the separation area and ceasefire line.