After US, Israel withdraws participation from UN Human Rights Council

IANS February 6, 2025 285 views

Israel has officially followed the United States in withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council, citing systemic bias and discrimination. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar strongly condemned the council, arguing it disproportionately targets Israel while protecting human rights abusers. The decision came during Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to Washington, where he met with President Trump. This diplomatic move underscores the close relationship between the US and Israel and their shared criticism of the UN body.

"The discrimination against us is clear: In the UNHRC, Israel is the only country with an agenda item dedicated solely to it." - Gideon Sa'ar, Israeli Foreign Minister
Jerusalem, Feb 6: A day after US President Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa'ar, has said that Israel would also join the US in its decision not to participate in the UNHRC.

Key Points

1

Israel supports US decision to withdraw from UNHRC

2

Foreign Minister calls council anti-semitic and biased

3

Netanyahu meets Trump during diplomatic visit

4

Dispute over council's treatment of Israel

Sa'ar on Wednesday expressed Israel's support for Trump's decision, calling it a step in the right direction.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Minister said, "Israel welcomes President Trump's decision not to participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Israel joins the United States and will not participate in the UNHRC."

He called the UNHRC to have "traditionally protected human rights abusers by allowing them to hide from scrutiny, and instead obsessively demonises the one democracy in the Middle East - Israel. This body has focused on attacking a democratic country and propagating anti-semitism, instead of promoting human rights."

"The discrimination against us is clear: In the UNHRC, Israel is the only country with an agenda item dedicated solely to it. Israel has been subjected to over 100 condemnatory resolutions, over 20 per cent of all resolutions ever passed in the Council - more than against Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela combined. Israel will not accept this discrimination any longer!" he added.

The announcement from the Israeli Foreign Minister came amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the US.

US President Trump announced America's departure from the "anti-semitic" UN Human Rights Council and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which drew a lot of flak over the allegations of links with Hamas.

Trump made the announcement during a joint press conference with Israeli PM Netanyahu in Washington, DC on Tuesday (local time).

"I'm also pleased to announce that this afternoon the United States withdrew from the anti-semitic UN Human Rights Council and ended all of the support for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which funnelled money to Hamas and which was very disloyal to humanity. Today I also took action to restore our maximum pressure policy on the Iranian regime. And we will once again enforce the most aggressive possible sanctions, drive Iranian oil exports to zero, and diminish the regime's capacity to fund terror throughout the region and the world," the US President added.

Israeli PM Netanyahu arrived in the US on Sunday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire agreement as well as plans for the Middle East with Trump, media reported.

During the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister, Donald Trump said during the joint conference, "The bonds of friendship and affection between the American and Israeli people have endured for generations, and they are absolutely unbreakable."

Leave a Comment

Your email won't be published

Tags:
UN Human Rights Council Israel United States Donald Trump Gideon Sa'ar Benjamin Netanyahu
You May Like!