UNITED NATIONS, United States, Nov 22, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The arrest warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza does not bar UN officials from meeting with him in the course of their work, the UN said Thursday.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Netanyahu have not spoken since the war started as a result of the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, although there have been contacts with the Israeli leader by UN officials in the region.

Guterres has been declared persona non grata by Israel, which accuses him of being biased in favor of the Palestinians. So talks between him and Netanyahu are very unlikely.

After the warrants issued Thursday by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas's military chief Mohammed Deif, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said UN policy on contacts with people facing arrest warrants dates back to a document issued in 2013.

"The rule is that there should not be any contacts between UN officials and individuals subject to arrest warrants," Dujarric said.

But limited contacts are allowed "to address fundamental issues, operational issues, and our ability to carry out our mandates," he added.

In late October, at a summit of the BRICS countries in Russia, Guterres met with President Vladimir Putin, who faces an arrest warrant from the ICP over the war in Ukraine.

That meeting, during which Guterres reiterated his condemnation of the Russian invasion, angered Ukraine.