Responding to Anti-Settlement Resolution, Israel Cuts $6 Million from U.N. Funding

Israel is doing more than simply objecting to the United Nations Security Council���s December 23 passage of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement-building on the West Bank; they���re taking money, lots of it, off of the U.N.���s table.

As reported by a variety of media outlets, including Yahoo! News, Israel announced Friday that it would be withholding $6 million of the $40-plus million in annual dues it was to pay to the body in 2017 for annual dues. Israel���s U.N. mission cited such groups as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the Division for Palestinian Rights that would no longer be receiving any of its money.

���It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that operate against us at the U.N. The U.N. must end the absurd reality in which it supports bodies whose sole intent is to spread incitement and anti-Israel propaganda,��� said Danny Danon, Israel���s Ambassador to the U.N.

Although U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric indicated that they had received no notice from Israel directly regarding its decision, it is clear that some movement to this effect on Tel Aviv���s part was likely coming after the controversial resolution at issue successfully passed.

���I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel,��� Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following the December vote.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large