— Washington (AFP)
The United States said Friday it was pressing the United Nations not to update a blacklist of companies doing business in Israeli settlements, despite Washington's calls on its ally to stop expansion in occupied Palestinian territory.
The State Department confirmed that it had approached the UN human rights office with concerns about the list, whose first publication in 2020 infuriated Israel.
The United States "continues to oppose any work to update it" and has raised concerns "directly with the Office of the High Commissioner" for rights, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
"Our view is that this database only serves to reinforce an anti-Israel bias that too often finds traction in UN venues," he said.
