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Israel will not renew the visa of the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied territories

A spokesman for the organization announced in New York on Friday that Israel will not renew the visa of the United Nations humanitarian aid official for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Canadian Lynn Hastings, a veteran United Nations official, has held the position of Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for nearly three years, and shares the headquarters between Jerusalem and the New York headquarters of the organization, according to her profile on Social network LinkedIn.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told the press: “The Israeli authorities have informed us that they will not renew Ms. Hastings’ visa after the specified date, at the end of this month,” stressing that as a rule for the organization, the United Nations must not exceed the duration of their visas in any country, Dujarric, who recalled Secretary-General António Guterres’ utmost confidence in the official, did not specify whether she would be replaced.

At the end of October, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Hastings in a post on social media of not being impartial and objective, which the organization immediately rejected. In those same days, both the UN ambassador and foreign minister accused the UN of bias and described its response to the October 7 Hamas attack, which killed 1,200 people, as “shameful.” They also requested the resignation of the Secretary-General. “For this reason, Israel decided to examine the visas issued to UN representatives one by one,” the spokesman announced today.