Some of the Israeli reaction on Wednesday was equally unsparing of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile. The Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz, in condemning the publication, said Ms. Bachelet’s office had “lost touch with reality.”Israel’s mission in Geneva, home to Ms. Bachelet’s office, lamented that she had succumbed to pressure to publish the “defamatory blacklist” and had “lost all credibility or ability to promote human rights in our region.”Publication of the list would have profound consequences for Israel’s relations with the high commissioner’s office, the Israeli mission said. The Palestinian leadership, on the other hand, welcomed the move. Publication of the list came a day after the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, denounced the Trump administration’s plan for Middle East peace in an address at the U.N. in New York. The plan would allow Israel to annex about 30 percent of the West Bank, including all its settlements there, while offering the Palestinians chunks of territory connected by tunnels and bridges that they could call a state.

Source: International New York Times February 12, 2020 19:53 UTC