USA URGES UN NOT TO PUBLISH ANTI-ISRAEL BLACKLIST: The Trump administration is urging the United Nations not to publish a “blacklist” of international firms that do business in Israeli communities in Judea & Samaria, diplomats and others said. The UN Human Rights Council voted to approve the database of companies last year, despite objections from the United States and Israel. American companies on the list drawn up by the Geneva-based council include Caterpillar, TripAdvisor, Priceline.com, Airbnb and others. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, has told USA officials he plans to publish the list by the end of the year and has asked for comments by 1 Sept. 2017 from countries where affected firms are headquartered. When the announcement of the blacklist was first made public, PM Netanyahu condemned it and said that "the UNHRC has become an anti-Israeli circus with their attacks on the only democracy in the Middle East and their disregard for the gross violations in Iran, Syria and North Korea.” The prime minister called on “responsible governments” not to respect the UN resolution that discriminates against Israel. The UN is known for its anti-Israel bias, and regularly approves anti-Israel resolutions. The body's former Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, publicly admitted that the UN has an anti-Israel bias. (INN)