UN Human Rights Commissioner, Jordan’s Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, has decided to postpone indefinitely the publication of a "blacklist" of Israeli and international companies operating in Judea and Samaria.
The postponement of publication of the list comes after heavy pressure exerted by the US and Israel on the Commissioner with the assistance of diplomats from other countries.
However, a document issued Wednesday by the commissioner mentioned that 206 Israeli and international companies operating in Judea and Samaria or in contact with businesses operating in the area had been identified.
In recent months, the Human Rights Commission has contacted 64 of the 206 companies.
The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, and the American ambassador to the organization, Nikki Haley, have led the campaign against the blacklist.
Danon harshly condemned the publication of the report today by the UN Human Rights Council which included information on the number of Israeli and international companies operating in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights.
“On the day that the UN is marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the UNHRC has chosen to publicize this information about the number of companies operating in Israel. This is a shameful act which will serve as a stain on the UNHRC forever.
“We will continue to act with our allies and use all the means at our disposal to stop the publication of this disgraceful blacklist.”
Haley has conveyed messages through diplomatic channels to senior members of the organization that if the list compiled by the Human Rights Council is published, the US would reduce its support to the council to zero, and perhaps even leave the body as an expression of protest.
The Israeli delegation to the United Nations, which is closely following the Council's repeated attempts to publish such a list, is waiting to see how its leaders will react to the American threat posed to them.
Last year, State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that “The United States has been adamantly opposed to this resolution from the start."
“These types of resolutions are counterproductive and do nothing to advance Israeli-Palestinian issues.”