‘Israeli politician offered senior UN post’

BETHLEHEM: UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres offered Israeli politician Tzipi Livni a senior position in the international body over the weekend, Israeli media reported, in a move seen as a way to obtain US approval for the appointment of former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad to head a UN mission.

Livni, a leader of the Zionist Union party, was offered a position as one of Guterres’s under-secretary-generals, pending approval by the UN Security Council, Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported.

However, Livni’s office has denied that any “official offer” had been received.

The move comes two days after US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that the US was “disappointed” by the selection of Fayyad to head the UN mission to Libya, claiming the move was proof of the UN’s bias against US ally Israel, and indicating the US could use its veto against Fayyad’s nomination.

The UN Security Council released a statement on their website on Saturday defending the proposal to appoint Fayyad, saying it was “solely based on Mr Fayyad’s recognised personal qualities and his competence for that position”.

“UN staff serve strictly in their personal capacity. They do not represent any government or country,” the statement said.

The Security Council statement also noted “no Israeli and no Palestinian have served in a post of high responsibility at the UN. This is a situation that the secretary-general feels should be corrected, always based on personal merit and competencies of potential candidates for specific posts”.

Guterres reiterated he believed Fayyad was the “right person” to be the world body’s envoy to Libya.

Critics said Livni stands accused of involvement in war crimes during Israel’s deadly assault on the besieged Gaza Strip in late 2008 and early 2009, with legal cases pending against her in the UK and Belgium.