Polak broadside against UN over Israel ‘obsession’

V LORD STUART Polak has accused the United Nations of “singling out Israel with nauseating frequency” and has urged the UK government to “look very carefully” before signing up to future resolutions.

In a House of Lords speech, the Conservative life peer said: “I have no problem with legitimate criticism where it is due, but this obsession with Israel needs to be addressed.”

Quoting Prime Minister Boris Johnson, he added: “Israel is being singled out with nauseating frequency, to borrow a phrase, and we are joining in.”

He said that during the last General Election campaign, the UN passed no fewer than 18 resolutions on Israel, which the UK votes for “far too often”.

He referred to the December 13 resolution which was passed by the UN General Assembly on “Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

“I would need more than the five minutes allocated to explain that the premise of the resolution is unacceptable,” said Lord Polak. “However, suffice it for me to say that the resolution totally ignored terror attacks against Israeli civilians in Israel, referring to them as ‘tensions and violence’.

“It negated the deadly attacks in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, and it sought to strip Israel of its inherent right to self-defence by classifying every defensive measure as a violation of international law.

“In addition, it referred to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem only by its Islamic name, Haram al-Sharif.

“What did we do? We voted for the resolution, whereas our allies and friends in Canada, Australia and the US had the courage to vote against it.”

The veteran Conservative Friends of Israel chief also told the Lords: “In 2018, the Palestinian Authority paid over £260 million — around seven per cent of its annual budget — on salaries to killers and murderers.

“In November 2019, the Netherlands became the first European country to discontinue direct aid to the Palestinian Authority due to its terror reward policy.

“I therefore urge the Minister also to look carefully at this.”