BICOM

Israeli leaders have sharply condemned the World Health Organisation (WHO), after it accused Israel of violating “mental, physical and environmental health” of Palestinians.

The organisation adopted a single resolution critical of a member state at its annual assembly on Wednesday. The motion, which was sponsored by the Arab Group and the Palestinian delegation, commissions a special WHO investigation into “the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory” and “the occupied Syrian Golan”.

The motion was carried, with 107 countries in favour, eight against, and eight abstentions, while 58 member states were not in attendance. Those who approved the motion included a number of EU states, such as UK, France and Germany.

During debate on the motion, the Syrian delegation claimed that Israel continues “to experiment on Syrian and Arab prisoners with medicines and drugs and to inject them with pathogenic viruses”. Israel routinely provides hospital and medical care to Syrian fighters from a variety of warring factions, who arrive at Israel’s border for treatment.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon said that the WHO had become “completely disconnected from reality,” adding “the WHO is being used by those whose only interest is to harm the state of Israel”. Israel’s Health Minister Yaakov Litzman expressed similar sentiments, saying: “The WHO is supposed to be a professional organisation, and I am very disappointed that the Palestinian delegate chose to use this forum to attack Israel.”

Meanwhile, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid wrote a letter in protest to WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan. He said: “The World Health Organisation has become the latest United Nations affiliated body… to allow itself to be used by those who seek to alienate the state of Israel through a campaign of delegitimization.”

The Conservative Friends of Israel called the WHO vote “shameful”. In a statement, Sir Eric Pickles and Lord Stuart Polak said that the organisation had “yet again singled out Israel above any other country in the world, including those with grave human rights records.”