Danny Danon
Danny DanonIsrael UN Mission

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECSOC) on Monday passed a resolution condemning Israeli “occupation”, a move blasted by Israeli ambassador Danny Danon is “biased and baseless”.

The resolution condemns Israel for the “economic and social repercussions of the occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan.”

The Council did not make any mention of the difficult humanitarian conditions in Syria.

“This is a completely biased and baseless resolution,” said Danon in response.

“Countries that vote for such a resolution that singles out Israel and condemns the economic situation in the Golan while ignoring the hundreds of thousands of Syrians butchered on the other side of the border, only encourage future disgraceful initiatives,” he continued.

The resolution also accuses the Israeli “occupation” for the poor economic situation in Judea and Samaria, while ignoring the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority, and for the high unemployment rate in the Gaza strip. There was no mention in the resolution of the fact that Israel completely left the Gaza Strip in 2005, or that the current security restrictions on Gaza are due to Hamas’s terrorist activity in the region.

Additionally, the resolution states that Israel “has gravely impeded the efforts to achieve sustainable development” in what it termed the “occupied Syrian Golan,” and that the Jewish state is responsible for the “deterioration of economic and living conditions.”

A report issued along with the resolution based these claims on incentives in place to encourage growth in the Jewish communities in the Golan and on Syrian accusations that Israel was preventing local farmers from working their land.

Monday's resolution, of course, is not the first time that UN institutions have singled out Israel.

Only two months ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) passed a resolution singling out only Israel for “mental, physical and environmental health” rights abuse.

In late November, amid a terror wave targeting Israel, the UN General Assembly adopted six resolutions condemning Israel, while failing to condemn Palestinian terrorism or human rights violations in other countries in the region.