Israel quits UN human rights council citing ‘discrimination’

The move follows US withdrawal from the UNHRC

Israel has pledged to withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), hours after the departure of the United States. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has accused the council of attacking a democratic country and propagating anti-Semitism.

In a statement posted on X, the top diplomat criticized the UNHRC for allegedly disproportionately targeting Israel while allowing human rights violations in other countries to go unpunished.

He noted that Israel is the only nation with a permanent agenda item in the council and has faced over 100 condemnatory resolutions, more than 20% of all resolutions passed, surpassing those against Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela combined, he said.

The council “obsessively demonizes the one democracy in the Middle East—Israel,” Saar wrote, adding that “Israel will not accept this discrimination any longer!”

Israel's announcement follows the US withdrawal from the UNHRC on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump left the body during his first tenure back in 2018. Announcing the move, the US president also pledged to reevaluate Washington’s relationship with other UN agencies over their stance on Israel and an anti-American bias.

”Three UN organizations that deserve renewed scrutiny are the UNHRC; the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),” the executive order reads.

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Trump targets ‘anti-American’ UN agencies

”UNRWA has reportedly has been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State as foreign terrorist organizations,” the order continues, referring to the alleged involvement of a handful of the agency employees in the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel staged by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The staffers ended up sacked by the UN following an internal investigation last summer.

The UNHRC has “protected human rights abusers,” UNESCO has failed to “reform itself” and has been continually demonstrating “anti-Israel sentiment over the past decade,” the executive order states.

The action against the UN agencies came after Trump promised to “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” The US president made the remarks on Tuesday during a White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has become the first foreign leader to visit Trump during his new term.

The US leader has also reiterated his stance that the Palestinians living in Gaza should be resettled elsewhere and the whole enclave demolished, claiming the recent conflict left it beyond repair.

Trump's statement has been condemned by global leaders but has been met with overwhelming approval in Israel.

According to UN estimates, over 90% of homes in Gaza have been destroyed or badly damaged in the conflict between Hamas and Israel, resulting in the displacement of around 1.9 million people, an overwhelming majority of the local population.