Tensions flared at the United Nations on Friday when Israel's ambassador, Danny Danon, and the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Pramila Patten, engaged in a heated exchange during a public hearing. The meeting, held to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, saw Danon demand Patten's resignation, accusing her of bias and of caving to UN chief Antonio Guterres' alleged "obsession with targeting Israel."
Another UN official, Vanessa Frazier, who compiled a separate report that also blacklists Israel, interjected to call for Danon to cease "personal attacks," stating she possessed "verified evidence." Danon retorted by telling Frazier to be quiet and referred to her report as "shameful."
Frazier's report warned that Israeli settler groups might be added to a global blacklist for violations against children, with Guterres expressing alarm at a rise in violations against Palestinian children. Israel is already included in the report's annexes for alleged violations. When Patten's report was released last month, Danon had called it "a new low," and Israel's foreign ministry had vowed to sever ties with Guterres.