Alwaght- A high-ranking United Nations official resigned after the international body was forced by "powerful member states" through "vicious attacks and threats" to withdraw its report that accused Israeli regime of imposing an "apartheid regime" on Palestinians.
United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary for the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Rima Khalaf, announced her resignation at a news conference in Beirut after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked for the report to be taken off the ESCWA website, Reuters reported.
ESCWA, which comprises 18 Arab states, published the report on Wednesday and said it was the first time a UN body had clearly charged thatTel Aviv regime "has established an apartheid regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole."
"I do not find it surprising that such member states, who now have governments with little regard for international norms and values of human rights, will resort to intimidation when they find it hard to defend their unlawful policies and practices," Khalaf, of Jordan, wrote to Guterres.
"It is only normal for criminals to pressure and attack those who advocate the cause of their victims," Khalaf wrote in the resignation letter, seen by Reuters, adding that she stands by the ESCWA report.
While the report was taken off the ECWAS website, Khalaf told reporters: "Let me be clear, the report was issued ... and has impacts. The member states received copies of this report. And it is available."
