Israel's UN Ambassador Danon slams UN settlements 'blacklist'
The document commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council was published just hours before the UN was set to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
By DANIEL J. ROTHUpdated: JANUARY 31, 2018 20:52Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon with his US counterpart Nikki Haley, January 25, 2018.(photo credit: EVAN SCHNEIDER/UN)
NEW YORK - Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon strongly condemned the UN on Wednesday after it published a partial “blacklist” of foreign and Israeli companies that operate in the settlements in the West bank and East Jerusalem.The document commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council was published just hours before the UN was set to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the international body’s headquarters in Manhattan.“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,” Danon said.“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,” he added.Earlier Wednesday, Hebrew media reported that Israel and the United States successfully postponed the UNHRC “blacklist” indefinitely following heavy pressure from both countries.The “blacklist” is a database compiled by the UN Human Rights Council and includes American companies such as Caterpillar, TripAdvisor, Priceline.com and Airbnb.The initial list was approved by the UNHRC in March 2016.The 16-page UNHRC report does not name any of the 206 companies on the database and says it will not make them public until each has been contacted.“We’re pleased that the UN did not published the names,” a spokesperson for Danon’s office told The Jerusalem Post, but added that Israel’s Permanent Mission is still fighting to keep the “blacklist” from being published in full.So far, a reported 64 companies have been contacted by the UNHRC.
