U.N. commission accuses Israel of 'extermination' in controversial report

"Israel is accused of committing ‘the crime against humanity of extermination’ and impeding religious freedoms in a recent United Nations report.

The U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel (COI) issued a scathing 19-page report...

The report is already sparking controversy, with the U.S. mission and legal experts expressing concerns over its content.

‘The latest report from this U.N.'s kangaroo court is a frightening indication of the antisemitism and incitement to violence spread by the United Nations on a global scale,’ Anne Bayefsky, Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and President of Human Rights Voices told Fox News Digital.

Among its many accusations against Israel, some of the most egregious include claims that Israel is restricting religious freedoms, citing its control over holy sites in Jerusalem. The COI stated in its report that Palestinian worshipers were ‘subjected to increased security checks, checkpoints, harassment and assault, and criteria, linked to age, gender and place of residence, have been applied by Israeli authorities to restrict which Palestinians are allowed to enter’ the Temple Mount. The commission also claims that a ‘religious leader’ was arrested shortly after Oct. 7 over a sermon he gave at the mosque without explaining what was said.

Furthermore, the commission also complained that ‘extremist Jews and right-wing politicians’ were permitted ‘on multiple occasions to enter the site with a police escort, pray and cause provocation, despite a long-standing prohibition against Jewish prayer.’ The COI appeared to take greater issue with Jews praying than with the ban on their ability to do so, despite claiming to admonish restrictions on religious freedoms.

‘They claim Jews exclude non-Jews from religious sites when the exact opposite is true. Only Israel protects freedom of religion for Christians, Muslims and Jews, while Jews have been banned and Jewish religious sites have been systematically trashed by Palestinian Arabs for a century,’ Bayefsky told Fox News Digital.

In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment, a State Department spokesperson said that the U.S. ‘firmly’ opposes ‘this COI’s open-ended and vaguely defined mandate’ and that it does not ‘support its involvement in investigating the current conflict given our reservations about its structure and approach.’..."