A bill seeking to disband the United Nations Human Rights Council’s probe into Israel is gaining momentum in Congress, the Jewish Insider reported on Wednesday.
The Commission of Inquiry was launched in 2021 following a conflict between Israel and terrorist groups in Gaza, known as “Operation Guardian of the Walls.”
Introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) in the spring, the bill seeks to abolish the probe and “combat systemic anti-Israel bias at the United Nations Human Rights Council and other international fora.” It would also cut back on Washington’s annual contributions to the organization. The United States is the UNHRC’s largest sponsor and accounts for over 20% of its budget, although it has over 190 member states.
The proposed legislation has since garnered the support of 34 members of Congress.
“The ongoing anti-Israel commission formed by the U.N.'s discredited Human Rights Council directly obstructs peace in the Middle East and intentionally targets the only democracy in the region,” Steube said in a statement when he first introduced the bill. “Our U.S. tax dollars have no place funding an anti-Israel commission.”
According to the Jewish Insider, the bill is also a top priority for AIPAC, which is working intensively to promote it.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington was working hard to cut the investigation’s budget by 25%.
On Monday, Israel scored a diplomatic achievement at the Human Rights Council when 22 members issued a statement censuring the probe. The move came after the head of the three-member commission, Navi Pillay, called for an arms embargo to be imposed on Israel following release of the commission’s initial report on “Operation Guardian of the Walls.”
The full and final version of the 18-page report, which made only a scant mention of Palestinian terrorism or the thousands of rockets fired at central and southern Israel during the 11-day conflict, is likely to be presented to the U.N. General Assembly late this year.
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.
