Israel has rejected the proposed appointment of Finland's former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) to the role of UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, according to a report by Israeli media outlet Ynet.
Yle reported in November that Haavisto was in line to take up the post of Special Coordinator, which is considered an important position within the UN.
The role was established in 1994 as a result of the Oslo Accords and seeks to find a path to peace in Israel and Palestine, representing the UN Secretary-General in the region.
Ynet reported that the UN put Haavisto's name forward for the position, but Israel asked for more candidate options.
The outlet explained that Israel considers Haavisto to be too close to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a critic of the war in Gaza. The Israeli government declared Guterres an "undesirable" in October, with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz saying the UN chief "does not deserve to set foot on Israel's soil".
In addition, Haavisto is known to be a supporter of the two-state solution to the conflict — which would see the creation of two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Israel has previously been in favour of the idea, but the current administration is not supportive of such a solution.
Haavisto had been considered a strong candidate in the race to be Helsinki's next mayor, but he withdrew from the contest in November, citing his desire to focus on international relations.
The rejection of Haavisto's candidacy was first reported in Finland by Iltalehti.