Despite her claims, over the past two and a half years, her Office has not engaged in genuine dialogue with Israel or provided any solutions or remedy to the situation she describes. She has also spent years, despite her claims today, refusing to name Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, and refusing to condemn violations of human rights by the Palestinians.

In 2020, Israel suspended ties with the Office of the High Commissioner for well-documented reasons. The prevalence of bias against Israel in her Office is well known, and her Office’s reports on Israel are unbalanced and prejudiced. Moreover, her Office has never engaged in meaningful discussions with Israel and has never intended to be anything but a mouthpiece for the Palestinian Authority. A cursory look at the UN Human Rights Office in Ramallah’s website or Facebook page reflects this uncomfortable truth.

Israel will continue to do all it can to promote and protect human rights. We hope that the next High Commissioner will right the wrongs of Michelle Bachelet’s time in office and finally commits to eliminating the bias against Israel at the Human Rights Council.

ENDS