The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, tore up the report of the Human Rights Council for condemning Israel of violations against the Palestinians, while the European Union renewed its call on Israel on Friday to stop its plans to expand settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The report condemned the Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip.
"The so-called Human Rights Council's obsession with Israel prevents the world from hearing the voices of the victims of the horrific crimes against humanity that we have already witnessed," Erdan said during the session.
Today, I addressed the @UN General Assembly and spoke out against the baseless, one-sided, and outright false accusations from the Human Rights Council's annual report.
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— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) October 29, 2021
He added, "Since the establishment of this council 15 years ago, it has blamed and condemned us, not 10 times like Iran, or 35 times like Syria, but 95 times (meaning 95 council resolutions condemning Israel)."
The Israeli delegate concluded, "The only place this report deserves is the trash, and that's exactly what we'll deal with," tearing up the report in front of the audience.
The Human Rights Council is an international body of the United Nations, responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the world.
The Council has the power to discuss all issues and cases related to human rights that require its attention throughout the year.
European condemnation
On the other hand, the European Union rejected the Israeli settlement policy, stressing that it would not recognize any change to the pre-1967 borders, and everything related to Jerusalem.
The union called on Israel to reverse its decision to build more than 2,860 housing units in 30 settlements.
The union stated, in a statement, that these settlements are illegal, under international law, and constitute a major obstacle to achieving the two-state solution and establishing a just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
The European Union stressed that what Israel is doing is inconsistent with the efforts made to reduce tension and ensure calm.
The countries renewed their call for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016 with all its provisions, with the aim of rebuilding confidence and creating the necessary conditions for consolidating peace.
The aforementioned UN resolution affirms the illegality of Israel's establishment of settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and calls for an immediate cessation of settlement activities.
Data from the Israeli human rights movement, Peace Now, indicate that there are about 666,000 settlers, 145 large settlements and 140 random outposts (not licensed by the Israeli government) in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.