For the next several weeks, U.S. military activity will be centered almost entirely on blocking Venezuelan oil exports, following a directive from the White House, a U.S. official said Wednesday.
According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the instruction orders American forces to concentrate nearly all their efforts “on the quarantine of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months.”
The administration views this approach as the preferred method of applying pressure on Caracas, prioritizing sanctions enforcement over immediate military action. “While military options still exist the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking,” the official said.
The emphasis on economic measures could cool expectations of near-term U.S. ground operations against Venezuela, something President Donald Trump has said remains possible.
U.S. officials believe the oil restrictions are already taking a heavy toll. “The efforts so far have put tremendous pressure on (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro and the belief is that by late January Venezuela will be facing an economic calamity unless it agrees to make significant concessions to the U.S.,” the official said.
{Matzav.com}
Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations says it has uncovered a vast, structured system inside the UN that channels enormous resources toward activities focused almost entirely on Israel. According to figures released by the mission, roughly $100 million a year is devoted to reports, debates, special mechanisms, and communications efforts that consistently single out the Jewish state, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said the findings demonstrate that the effort is neither incidental nor marginal. “Today we actually showed that these are orchestrated campaigns, well-funded and well-established within the UN budget,” he said. “These $100 million, which will be approved in the coming days in the new UN budget, are spent on activities against the government of Israel and against the IDF.”
Danon noted that while some of the initiatives are openly labeled as addressing Palestinian issues, others are presented under broader or less transparent frameworks. “Sometimes they do it directly, such as through committees that address Palestinian issues. Many times it is disguised under different names and organizations, but the actual activities are pure propaganda against the State of Israel,” he said.
The assessment, prepared by Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN and International Organizations, points to specific UN entities whose stated mission centers on advancing the Palestinian narrative, including the Division for Palestinian Rights and several General Assembly committees dedicated exclusively to that cause.
According to the analysis, the UN produces dozens of debates and at least 100 reports every year dealing with Israel and the Palestinians. Many of these documents are described as repetitive, politically slanted, and lacking balance. Each report can cost tens of thousands of dollars to prepare and translate, while debates add thousands more in expenses. When travel and staffing costs are included, the total climbs into the millions annually.
Israeli officials say a central pillar of this structure is UNRWA, whose annual budget request stands at approximately $86 million. Of that sum, about $80 million is drawn from the UN’s regular budget, with roughly 60 percent earmarked for international staff salaries.
While other UN bodies have been subjected to budget cuts and reform efforts, UNRWA has largely avoided such measures. This continues despite repeated disclosures of Hamas infiltration into the agency and longstanding questions about its neutrality.
Asked whether Israel is attempting to bring greater scrutiny to the UN bodies receiving this funding, Danon acknowledged the challenge. “We are always trying,” he said in response to a question from The Jerusalem Post. “But unfortunately, most countries tend to ignore it. And even though we exposed this, the UN will continue to fund these activities.”
Beyond the General Assembly framework, Israel has also highlighted the role of the Human Rights Council in Geneva and its commission of inquiry on Israel, established in 2021 with an open-ended mandate. That mechanism alone is estimated to cost about $4 million per year and, according to Israeli officials, has increasingly adopted language associated with delegitimization, accusations of genocide, and economic pressure campaigns.
The commission has compiled a so-called blacklist of companies operating in Israeli-controlled areas and works alongside special rapporteurs who receive UN support while advancing explicitly political agendas. Israeli officials argue that these activities feed international legal actions against Israel and bolster global BDS efforts.
Israel’s mission stressed that exposing these funding patterns is not an attempt to undermine humanitarian assistance or silence legitimate criticism. Rather, officials say, the goal is to dismantle a system that has institutionalized discrimination, rewarded bias, and consumed vast sums of public money.
“We are sharing the information, and we are grateful to the US mission, which is taking a moral stand against the funding of these bodies,” Danon said. “Despite the huge amount of money directed against Israel, we will continue to stand strong and proud against the bias of UN organizations.”
{Matzav.com}
