On February 6, 2025, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced Israel's withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), citing long standing institutional bias against the country.

The letter addressed to the UNHRC president condemned the council’s treatment of Israel, stating that it has “traditionally protected serial human rights abusers by allowing them to hide from scrutiny” while demonizing Israel. It described the UNHRC as a “political tool” used to delegitimize the country.

The letter specifically criticized Item 7 of the agenda of the UNHCR, which mandates alleged human rights and international law violations in the Palestinian territories. The provision was deemed to be inherently discriminatory, reinforcing an anti-Israel bias within the council. Additionally, the special rapporteur assigned to the Israel-Hamas conflict was also criticized, claiming that the position is designed to produce one-sided assessments, undermining the possibility of objective analysis.

Israel’s decision followed a similar move by the United States earlier in the week. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the UNHRC and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), citing concerns over anti-American and anti-Israel bias.