UK will change tack on UN motions criticising Israel, says Jeremy Hunt

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Source: The Guardian

UK will change tack on UN motions criticising Israel, says Jeremy Hunt

Policy will be to vote against claims of rights abuses by Israel brought under special protocol

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
Thu 21 Mar 2019 17.48 GMT

The UK will oppose motions criticising rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza that are brought to the UN’s human rights council under a special procedure dedicated to Israel’s behaviour in the occupied territories, Jeremy Hunt has said.

The move is likely to delight the Trump administration, which quit the human rights council in June last year, citing its approach to Israel. It also appears aimed at cementing the Conservative party’s relations with pro-Israel sections of the British Jewish community at a time when the Labour party is mired in criticism of its handling of antisemitism complaints.

Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, the foreign secretary said a “disproportionate and discriminatory focus on Israel undermines the credibility of the world’s leading human rights forum and obstructs the quest for peace in the Middle East”.

The 47-member human rights council, elected by the UN general assembly, has a permanent feature on its annual agenda titled “Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories”. Israel has long complained of bias as no other country has a dedicated item.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/21/uk-will-change-tack-on-un-motions-criticising-israel-says-jeremy-hunt