The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which recently published a report accusing Israel of ‘apartheid,’ has now published a new anti-Israel report.
The new document accuses Israeli security forces of using disproportionate force against Palestinians and in some cases of “extrajudicial executions,” probably referring to the neutralization of terrorists who are attacking Israelis.
The report goes on to state that in the period from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 Israeli security forces killed sixty-three Palestinians, including nineteen children, and wounded an additional 2,276 Palestinians including 562 children.
Additionally, the anti-Israel report cites the UN Committee Against Torture and its concern about “Israeli practices towards Palestinian detainees.” It accused Israel of “torture or ill-treatment of Palestinian children” and “deprivation of basic legal safeguards for administrative detainees, isolation and solitary confinement of detainees, including minors, punishment and ill-treatment of hunger strikers.” The report also claimed that “No criminal investigation was opened into more than 1,000 complaints of torture or ill-treatment filed since 2001.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon announced that he will work to have this report removed. “This is yet another blood libel against the State of Israel. Just as we succeeded in having the previous preposterous report removed, we will fight relentlessly against this blatantly false distortion of the truth as well,” said Ambassador Danon. “We will not accept any attempt to slander the brave soldiers of the IDF,” he concluded.
The previous ESCWA report which had accused Israel of ‘apartheid,’ was removed by the UN following protests by Ambassador Danon and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.
Under Secretary General Rima Khalaf, the head of ESCWA, then resigned rom his position.