Israel to sever ties with 3 UN bodies after U.S. withdrawals

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the country would "immediately sever all contact" with three UN agencies and associated bodies after a review following U.S. withdrawals from dozens of multilateral organizations.



The ministry stated in a statement that Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has ordered an immediate cutoff of ties with the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the UN-Energy, and the Global Forum on Migration and Development, accusing the UN bodies of bias against Israel.



Sa'ar also instructed the ministry to examine whether to continue cooperation with additional international organizations, it said, without saying if the move will affect Israel's broader engagement with the UN system.



According to the ministry, of the 66 international bodies the White House announced last week it was withdrawing from, Israel has already cut ties with four, including the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, UN Women, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.