The Palestinian Authority strongly criticized the US decision to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council, and considered it as sufficient proof of US bias towards Israel. “The decision of the administration of US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council shows that Washington chose occupation, settlement and the law of force instead of the force of law, international legitimacy and international law,” Erekat said on Wednesday. Responding to the US State Department’s statement, which justified its decision by the resolutions adopted by the Council against Israel, the Palestinian official said: “The denial of the facts does not negate their existence. The international community stands against occupation and colonization, collective punishment, siege, closure, executions, arrests, especially children, house demolitions, ethnic cleansing and blatant violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.” He stressed that Trump’s administration considered “these criminal policies and practices as self-defense”, which made the US a partner in those Israeli practices. “The Palestinian leadership will continue to work with the international community and organizations, including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and the Human Rights Council’s facts finding mission on the crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, despite the threats and tactics of intimidation and extortion by the Trump Administration,” Erekat added. Meanwhile, the Palestinian foreign ministry said that the US withdrawal from the UN rights council “exposes the extent to which this administration is willing to go to shield Israel from accountability.” In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry expressed its “full confidence that this step will not affect the integrity and effectiveness of this Council and the determination of its members to promote and uphold the principles of international law, especially international human rights law and the international humanitarian Law.” Israel welcomed the US decision, describing it as a “courageous decision against the hypocrisy and the lies” of the UN rights council. “For years, the UNHRC has proven to be a biased, hostile, anti-Israel organization that has betrayed its mission of protecting human rights,” the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.