Guterres Backs UN Official Vanessa Frazier After Deleted Anti-Israel Repost, Despite June 24 Israeli Complaint
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 2
Guterres Backs UN Official Vanessa Frazier After Deleted Anti-Israel Repost, Despite June 24 Israeli Complaint
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 2
Summary
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has full confidence in Vanessa Frazier, his spokesperson said, rejecting claims that the children-and-armed-conflict envoy had vilified Israel.
June 18 triggered the dispute: Frazier reposted a claim that Israel was dropping cluster munitions "disguised as children’s toys" in Lebanon, then deleted it after the IDF called the allegation fake news.
The original post came from Sarah Wilkinson, a U.K.-based activist due for a January trial on terror-related and Hamas-support charges, intensifying criticism of Frazier’s judgment.
June 24 brought the diplomatic fallout, with Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon urging a Security Council review and citing what he called a pattern of misleading social media activity and procedural misconduct.
The clash also feeds into a wider fight over the UN's June 17 children-and-armed-conflict report, which Israel and its supporters say reflects anti-Israel bias while Frazier says follows rigorous UN verification.