Israel quits UN human rights council citing ‘discrimination’

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…