TEL AVIV, October 25. /TASS/. Israel will refuse to issue visas to UN officials over the position of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the conflict between Palestine and Israel, said Ambassador Gilad Erdan, Israel’s permanent representative to the global body.

"Due to his (Guterres’ - TASS) remarks, we will refuse to issue visas to UN representatives," Erdan told Galei Zahal, or Army Radio.

"We have already refused a visa for Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths," Erdan continued. "The time has come to teach them a lesson," he said.

Addressing an open discussion on the situation in the Middle East at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, the UN chief said that while he unequivocally condemned the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, he said they did not happen in a vacuum, as the Palestinian people "have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation."

Following that, Erdan called on Guterres to resign immediately accusing him of failing to understand "the campaign of mass killings of children, women and elders" that was being unleashed by Hamas.

In turn, Israel’s top diplomat Eli Cohen cancelled personal meetings with Guterres citing the latest escalation between Palestine and Israel.