Israel withdraws from several international organizations after US

ISRAEL on Tuesday announced the severing of ties with several international organizations, including some UN agencies, days after the US withdrew from 66 global bodies.

In a post on X, Israel's Foreign Ministry announced that it had decided to withdraw after "an examination and discussion conducted following the US withdrawal from dozens of international organizations".

The Foreign Ministry said that the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government had already severed ties with Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict, UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. (UNWOMEN), the UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)—organizations that the US recently withdrew from.

Israel also announced that it was, with immediate effect, withdrawing from the UN Alliance of Civilizations, UN Energy, and the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

What reasons did Israel cite for the withdrawal?

On its June 2024 withdrawal from the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict, Israel said that the organization had "shamelessly blacklisted the IDF in 2024", putting it alongside the likes of ISIS and Boko Haram.

On severing ties with UNWOMEN, Israel said that the organization had "deliberately ignored all cases of sexual violence committed against Israeli women", adding that Tel Aviv cut ties in July 2024.

On UNCTAD and ESCWA, Israel said it had been "disengaged for years", and cited anti-Israel reports for its withdrawal.

As for the three organizations from which Israel withdrew after the US, Tel Aviv said that the UN Alliance of Civilizations had "not invited Israel to participate", alleging that the platform was used for years for "attacks against Israel."

Tel Aviv was also called UN Energy a "wasteful organization" that reflected the "excessive and inefficient bureaucracy of the UN".

On its withdrawal from the Global Forum on Migration and Development, Tel Aviv said that the body "erodes the ability of sovereign nations to enforce their own immigration laws".

Israel's withdrawal from international bodies may not stop at these, with the country's foreign ministry actively examining additional organizations.

US withdrawal from international organizations

Israel's announcement comes less than a week after US President Donald Trump, in a memo on 8 January, ordered America's withdrawal from 66 international organizations, including several UN bodies and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Trump justified the US withdrawal, its most extensive retreat from global cooperation in modern history, by alleging that international organizations it withdrew from were "organizations, conventions, and treaties" that ran "contrary to the interests of the United States".

Trump's declaration was expounded on by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said, "President Trump is clear: It is no longer acceptable to be sending these institutions the blood, sweat, and treasure of the American people, with little to nothing to show for it. The days of billions of dollars in taxpayer money flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over."