Former national security adviser John Bolton slammed the United Nations after the international organization released a database of companies that do business with Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.
“The U.N.’s release of a ‘blacklist’ with companies that do business in West Bank is outrageous,” Bolton said Friday morning on Twitter. “It’s a huge surrender to the anti-Israel boycott movement and fuels anti-Semitism inside the U.N. We must condemn all efforts to isolate Israel.”
The UN’s release of a ‘blacklist’ with companies that do business in West Bank is outrageous. It’s a huge surrender to the anti-Israel boycott movement and fuels anti-Semitism inside the UN. We must condemn all efforts to isolate Israel.
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) February 14, 2020
The so-called “blacklist,” denounced by Israel but welcomed by Palestinian leaders, was created after the U.N. Human Rights Council passed a resolution in 2016 ordering its formation. The list includes mostly Israeli companies.
Michelle Bachelet, the head of the council, admitted the decision to publish the list was “highly contentious.”
“I am conscious this issue has been and will continue to be highly contentious,” she said in a statement. “However, after an extensive and meticulous review process, we are satisfied that this fact-based report reflects the serious consideration that has been given to this unprecedented and highly complex mandate.”
“Boycotting Israeli companies does not advance the cause of peace and does not build confidence between the sides,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said in a statement. “We call on our friends around the world to speak out against this shameful initiative, which recalls dark periods in our history.”
In 2016, President Barack Obama allowed the U.N. to condemn Israel for its settlements in disputed Palestinian territory. The United States did not vote for the resolution but allowed it to pass the U.N. Security Council by abstaining from voting.
Bolton was U.S. ambassador to the U.N. from 2005-2006 under former President George W. Bush. He served as President Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to September 2019 and was in the news recently as Democrats fought for his testimony in the Senate impeachment trial, which ended in acquittal last week.
In late January, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan.
