President Herzog slams WHO
“The biased and politicised resolutions almost on an annual basis singling out Israel at the World Health Assembly must end,” Israel’s President Isaac Herzog demanded, saying that they “damage the work and reputation of this distinguished body.”
WHO Chairman Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and President Isaac Herzog
Herzog opened the 72nd session of the United Nations’ World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Conference for Europe in Tel Aviv on Monday. Ministers of health and representatives from 53 countries across the WHO European Region are meeting in person for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Herzog addressed the forum and said that Israel “is committed to working closely with the WHO towards enabling humanity to meet the many challenges we face. Although Israel is a small country with few natural resources, we are blessed with phenomenal human resources.”
“Israel is home to countless trailblazing med-tech and health-tech start-ups, pushing the bounds of human imagination. Together with European and international institutions, we can develop the breakthroughs that will enable people to live healthier and longer lives. In this vein, I am happy to announce that Israel will be working with the WHO to establish a cutting-edge centre for digital health, bringing top-quality and innovative care to every corner of the world,” he said.
However, “the biased and politicised resolutions almost on an annual basis singling out Israel at the World Health Assembly must end. Such resolutions, based on falsehoods and ulterior motives, damage the work and reputation of this distinguished body while negatively impacting on health cooperation in the region. Health must be above politics, while serving as a bridge to mutually-beneficial cooperation and exchange, enhancing quality of life for all.”
For instance, in May WHO held a session singling out Israel, which was condemned in speeches by several countries, including Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Turkey, Lebanon, and Cuba, for allegedly violating the health rights of the non-Jewish population in the Golan Heights.
The assembly adopted a resolution submitted by the Palestinian Authority and Syrian delegations, requiring the WHO to hold the same debate at next year’s assembly and to prepare another report on the “Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.”
Instead, Herzog called to “embrace the new spirit of peace sweeping through the Middle East, following the historic Abraham Accords,” singed with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
“Israel will continue to offer support and aid to neighbours near and far, including and predominantly our Palestinian neighbours, extending its hand to all, in partnership and collaboration,” he concluded.
