Israel is set to immediately sever all contact with several United Nations agencies and international bodies following a review conducted after the United States’ withdrawal from dozens of international organisations. The move, Jerusalem said, was prompted by what it described as persistent bias, politicisation, and actions hostile to Israel by the affected bodies.
Last week, US president Donald Trump withdrew the United States from 66 international organizations and treaties, around half of them linked to the United Nations, accusing the bodies of acting “contrary to the interests of the United States.”“After an examination and discussion conducted following the US withdrawal from dozens of international organizations, Israel’s minister of foreign affairs @gidonsaar has decided that Israel will immediately sever all contact with the following UN agencies and international organizations. In addition, foreign minister Sa’ar has instructed his Ministry to immediately examine, in consultation with relevant government ministries, when necessary, the continued cooperation between Israel and other organizations. Further decisions will be made following thorough examination and an additional discussion,” Israel’s foreign ministry said through a post on X.The decision, effective immediately, applies to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women); the UN Conference on Trade and Development; the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; the UN Alliance of Civilizations; UN Energy; and the Global Forum on Migration and Development.The Foreign Ministry said it was ending cooperation with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict after the agency included the Israel Defense Forces in its annual “blacklist” on children in armed conflict, alongside Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.“Israel is the only democratic country to be listed, alongside ISIS and Boko Haram,” the ministry noted, adding that Israel had already cut ties with the office in June 2024.The ministry said Sa’ar withdrew Israel from UN Women after it “deliberately ignored all cases of sexual violence committed against Israeli women on October 7, 2023.” It said Israel also exited the UN Agency for Trade and Development and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia over what it described as “virulent anti-Israel reports,” while accusing the Alliance of Civilizations of being “used as a platform for attacks against Israel.”Finally, the ministry accused UN Energy of being a “wasteful organization,” saying it exemplified the “excessive and inefficient bureaucracy of the UN,” and said the Global Forum on Migration and Development “erodes the ability of sovereign nations to enforce their own immigration laws.”Israel has long accused the United Nations of systemic bias, noting that more resolutions are passed against it each year than against all other countries combined. It has been especially critical of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing it, well before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel, of colluding with Hamas and promoting anti-Israel incitement, allegations the agency denies. Citing what it describes as entrenched links to terror groups, Israel has banned UNRWA from operating within its territory and has restricted its activities in Gaza and the West Bank.