The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted on Friday five resolutions condemning Israel.
One that was related to accusations of Israeli abuses in the Golan Heights passed by a tally of 26 in favor, 16 against and five abstentions—one day after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States should recognize Israeli sovereignty over the northern area adjacent to Syria.
A third condemned Israel building settlements in Judea and Samaria that passed with 32 in favor, five against and 10 abstentions.
The fourth, calling for the right of Palestinian self-determination, was adopted 41 in favor, three against and two abstentions
Finally, a resolution slamming Israel for defending itself against violent protests on its southern border with Gaza passed with 23 in favor, eight against and 15 abstentions, gathering the support of less than half of the Council members.
Australia opposed every resolution, with the United Kingdom, Denmark voting against four out of five of the resolutions.
“We encourage other E.U. member states to join in voting against all resolutions as an important first step towards the ultimate goal of eliminating the discriminatory agenda item,” stated B’nai B’rith International. “We also recognize as positive the improvement in any other countries’ overall voting, such as that by Brazil, which for the first time voted against two of the resolutions.”
“The United Nations Human Rights Council has again shown its true colors, cynically exploiting its mandate of promoting human rights worldwide by focusing obsessively on Israel, while missing the opportunity to address and contend with the ongoing abuses carried out by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority against their own people,” said World Jewish Congress CEO and executive vice president Robert Singer.
“Each of these resolutions derail any chance for meaningful and effective debate, and underscore the fact that the council has indeed become a theater of the absurd,” he added. “The resolutions on Palestinian human rights unbelievably never even once mention Hamas, the violence it incites against its own citizens, or its repeated use of civilians as human shields.”
Singer also said that “the resolution on Golan is just as disconnected, going so far as to accuse Israel of obstructing the ‘fundamental rights’ of non-Jewish citizens in that area, while conveniently and completely ignoring that these citizens enjoy full protection under Israeli law, and even voluntarily and proudly serve in the Israel Defense Forces.”