Israel announced on Tuesday that it was withdrawing from several international organizations, including two UN agencies, while ordering a wider review of cooperation with others. Israel's foreign ministry said persistent bias, politicisation and actions hostile to Israel were behind its decision, which follows the US withdrawal from 66 global bodies last week. In a statement on X, the ministry said, "Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has decided that Israel will immediately sever all contact with the following UN agencies and international organizations." It listed UN Energy, the UN Alliance of Civilisations and the Global Forum on Migration and Development, which is not part of the UN system, among the bodies it was severing ties. On January 8, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum ordering the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organisations as they "no longer serve American interests," the White House said. The order involved 31 United Nations organisations and 35 other entities and included the three bodies Israel withdrew from on Tuesday. The extent of Israel's relationship with the three bodies before the announcement was unclear. The foreign ministry accused the UN Alliance of Civilisations of not having invited Israel to participate, saying it had "instead for years been used as a platform for attacks against Israel." It also called UN Energy "wasteful" and said the Global Forum on Migration and Development "erodes the ability of sovereign nations to enforce their own immigration laws." The ministry listed four other UN bodies from which the US withdrew last week, highlighting that Israel had already cut ties with them years ago. Israel has long been at loggerheads with the UN, accusing its agencies of bias against it, particularly after the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA, the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some of its employees took part in that assault. A series of investigations found some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA, but the agency has stressed that Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its allegations. In 2024, two laws were passed barring the agency from operating in Israeli territory and from having contact with Israeli authorities. — Agencies
