A former government attorney was appointed the United Nations Security Council’s top counterterrorism lawyer Tuesday, making him the only Israeli national in a senior security position in the UN Secretariat.

David Scharia is now the legal coordinator for the Counter-Terrorism Committee executive directorate. He will oversee 12 international legal experts as they advise the 15-nation Security Council on its counterterrorism efforts.

“I am very proud to welcome a very talented Israeli into the UN’s senior ranks,” said Israeli UN ambassador Ron Prosor. “One of my priorities is to bring many more bright minds from the Holy Land into the UN’s halls, where Israelis have long been underrepresented.”

Reports hold that only around 124 of the 44,000 international employees of the UN are Israeli. UN officials attribute the low number to Israel’s relatively small population of under 8 million.

Scharia previously served as Israeli attorney general’s chief attorney for counterterrorism cases before the Israeli Supreme Court. He began working for the Security Council’s counterterrorism executive directorate in 2005 as a legal advisor.

The directorate was established in 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States to promote international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.