Overview
- Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar directed an immediate halt to cooperation with selected UN-linked bodies and instructed the Foreign Ministry to assess ties to additional organizations for possible further action.
- The targeted entities are the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, UN Women, UNCTAD, ESCWA, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, UN Energy, and the Global Forum on Migration and Development.
- Israel notes it had already cut off several of these bodies earlier, including the children-and-armed-conflict office in June 2024, UN Women in July 2024, and long-standing disengagement from UNCTAD and ESCWA.
- Jerusalem cites specific grievances: the IDF’s inclusion on a 2024 blacklist, alleged indifference to sexual-violence claims, years of what it calls virulently anti-Israel reports, exclusion from forums, wasteful bureaucracy, and concerns over migration sovereignty.
- The decision follows the U.S. move on January 8 to withdraw from 66 international organizations, including multiple UN bodies, which Israel reviewed before announcing its own steps.