Israeli authorities detained the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, Gilles Michaud, over his previous visit to the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli media reports, the UN official was stopped during security checks at Ben Gurion Airport, where security personnel confiscated his passport and took him to a special waiting area before questioning him about an official visit he made to Gaza in August last year. The visit had reportedly been coordinated in advance with Israeli authorities.
Michaud described the incident as unprecedented treatment for a senior UN official, saying he had never faced similar conduct in any other country he had visited.
Following the incident, the UN official cancelled all his scheduled meetings in Israel, in a move reflecting growing frustration over the Israeli measures, which come amid mounting international criticism of Israel’s treatment of international institutions operating in Palestine, particularly in light of increasing pressure linked to the war in Gaza.
