Israel is under a diplomatic siege. A sweeping majority of the nations already recognise Palestine, there are mounting accusations of a genocide unfolding in Gaza, coupled with ever-growing trade threats, apart from the exclusion from sporting and cultural events, and boycott movements sweeping the world. What’s left? Perhaps, Israel’s ban from the United Nations.
Israel’s verbal war on the UN has contributed to those calls assuming the intensity of a civil movement of sorts. In the recent past, countries and territories aside, Israel has waged a violent war of words targeting the United Nations. Exactly one year ago, while addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu denounced the body, “as contemptible, a house of darkness, swamp of antisemitic bile, anti-Israel flat Earth society.”
Starting his speech by letting the audience members in on his intention to not be there, Netanyahu said, “The singling out of the one and only Jewish state continues to be a moral stain on the United Nations. It has made this once-respected institution contemptible in the eyes of decent people everywhere. But for the Palestinians, this UN house of darkness is home court. They know that in this swamp of anti-semitic bile, there’s an automatic majority willing to demonetise the Jewish state for anything. In this anti-Israel, flat-Earth society, any false charge, any outlandish allegation can muster a majority.”
The rhetorical attacks have not stayed restricted to General Assembly addressed or to Netanyahu; thereby making Israel’s staunch critics question its place in the UN and make a case for its ban or at least suspension from the international body. Earlier in May 2024, Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan shredded the UN Charter while standing at the podium of the general assembly over a resolution to back Palestinian membership. He later said the UN headquarters in New York should not just be closed, but, “wiped off the face of the Earth.”
The UN has hit back on several occasions with UN secretary general Antonio Guterres calling the number of personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2023 during Israel’s military operations as “by far the highest number of personnel killed in a single conflict or natural disaster.”
He further called for full accountability for each and every one of the deaths. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher issued a shameful indictment of not just Israel but also “international inaction and apathy,” as he shared statistics on the killing of 383 workers last year worldwide and nearly half in Gaza.
Israel, a misfit at the UN or unwelcomed?
Over the past one year, Israel has launched a multitude of attacks on multiple countries — Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran, apart from Qatar. As a result, its trade allies and traditional friendships are strained. So much so that India, Israel’s strategic trade partner and politically cooperative ally, condemned the attack on Qatar, and called it “a reckless escalation”.
Also read: Netanyahu at UN: Israel 'must finish the job' against Hamas
UK-Israel relations plunged to their lowest in decades after the British foreign secretary suspended negotiations over a trade deal with Israel earlier this year. The growing hostility has had no impact on Israel’s policy, stance and actions on Gaza; even though Britain, France, Australia, Portugal, Canada recognised a Palestinian state at the UN, earlier in September this year. They join the list of nations that already includes Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Belgium, among others; bringing the total to a staggering majority of 81 per cent of the international community. Currently, 157 of the 193 UN member states recognise Palestine as a sovereign nation.
Why hasn’t Israel been banned, so far?
But is it an easy process to expel Israel from the UN? The process is complicated and riddled with procedural steps as Article 6 of the UN Charter, the UNSC is responsible for recommending to the General Assembly the expulsion of a member state violating UN principles. This requires that none of the permanent members of the Security Council with veto power oppose it. Obtaining such a recommendation from the UNSC requires that none of its permanent members with veto power, such as the US, oppose it. In the past, the US has vetoed the draft resolution seeking immediate ceasefire in Gaza as many as six times.
As PM Benjamin Netanyahu increasingly finds himself being cornered on the world stage, his plane took a circuitous route while en route to the UN in New York on Friday. Avoiding the air space of several European countries, the Israeli PM who has an international criminal court arrest warrant against him, arrived in New York only to be received by protesters on the streets in Manhattan, and dozens of world leaders criticising Israel on the genocidal war, apartheid practices, attacks on UN staff and ban on UNRWA activities.
Netanyahu’s speech even before it could be delivered has been received against the backdrop of Israel’s defence forces pushing ahead with settlement plans in the occupied West Bank while escalating its genocide in Gaza. Dozens of officials and diplomats staged a walkout as he took to the podium. Notably, at last year’s gathering, several delegations left the hall as soon as he took to the stage. The Israeli PM stays undeterred vowing to “finish the job” and slammed other nations for recognising Palestinian statehood. The mass walkouts by diplomats at the UN haven’t worked yet for the second year in a row. The international member states might next try forcing Israel to be staged out of the UN body instead.
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