WASHINGTON, February 4. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to withdraw his country from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the main UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), the White House press pool reported.
The brief statement says the US president has signed "an EO [executive order] withdrawing the US from UNRWA and the UN human rights council."
Previously, Politico reported that Trump would stop US engagement with the UNHRC and UNRWA. The executive order was signed in the run-up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US capital.
In October 2024, the Knesset (Israel’s unicameral parliament) passed a law banning the operations of UNRWA in the country. The law prohibits UNRWA from maintaining offices, providing services, or engaging in any activities, directly or indirectly, within Israeli territory. The bill was drafted following reports about the alleged participation of the agency's employees in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has repeatedly claimed that many UNRWA employees are affiliated with the radical movement.