Netanyahu praises 'pro-Israel' US envoy Nikki Haley after she quits UN post

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised the outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations after she resigned on Tuesday, following a tenure in which she fervently asserted Washington's support for Israel.

US envoy Nikki Haley was a staunch pro-Israel voice at the UN and a vocal proponent of the Trump administration's anti-Palestinian policies.

In 2017, Haley blocked the appointment of former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad to be the new UN envoy to Libya, saying the move was in support of its ally Israel.

"I thank ambassador Nikki Haley for her uncompromising struggle against the hypocrisy of the UN," Netanyahu wrote in Hebrew on his official Twitter account, wishing her success in her future endeavours.

Haley has been a favourite in Israel as she pushed a hawkish line on Iran and led the United States in quitting the UN Human Rights Council, accusing it of bias against Israel.

Throughout her post, Haley was routinely lambasted for her stance on human rights and has consistently voted against UN measures critical of Israel.

Last year, Haley vetoed a draft resolution that rejected President Donald Trump's decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem after all 14 other council members supported it.

In May, the UN council held a special meeting to discuss violence in Gaza, following an Israeli massacre of over 60 Palestinian protesters.

The US and Australia were the only two countries to vote against a proposal for an "independent, international commission of inquiry" to investigate violations of human rights in Gaza.

A month later, the US withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council, with Haley saying it's "not worthy of its name" because of its alleged anti-Israel bias.

In August, Haley claimed that the UN body for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, was exaggerating its numbers.

Later that month the Trump administration ended all funding for UNRWA, which provides humanitarian assistance to more than five million Palestinian refugees

Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, in a statement praised the outgoing ambassador: "Thank you, Nikki Haley! Thank you for standing with the truth without fear."

The country's far-right education minister Naftali Bennett, head of the religious nationalist Jewish Home party, echoed the sentiment.

"On behalf of the Israeli people: Thank you for what you've done for Israel. We will not forget," he tweeted.

The left-leaning Israeli daily Haaretz, meanwhile, said Haley has "repeatedly defended Israel's government from criticism, and criticised the Palestinians many times."

Agencies contributed to this report.