UN General Assembly Adopts Resolution Urging Cease-Fire in Gaza
The United Nations General Assembly voted on Tuesday to approve a nonbinding resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Out of the 193 member states, 153 voted in favor of the resolution, 23 abstained, and eight members, including the United States and Israel, voted against it.
Last week, the United States, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, vetoed a similar resolution brought before the 15-member panel after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres utilized a rarely used parliamentary tool to bring the issue directly to the Council.
Addressing the General Assembly, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated that while the US agreed with certain aspects of the resolution, such as increasing humanitarian aid and securing the release of hostages, she disagreed with the idea that a cease-fire would be appropriate at this time.
“Any cease-fire right now would be temporary at best and dangerous at worst – dangerous to Israelis, who would be subject to relentless attacks, and also dangerous to Palestinians, who deserve the chance to build a better future for themselves, free from Hamas,” she added.
The text of the approved resolution called for the unconditional release of hostages and insisted that both parties adhere to international law. However, final additions proposed by the US and Austria did not garner enough votes to pass the two-thirds threshold for inclusion.
The US aimed to include wording condemning “the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas,” while Austria sought to specify that Hamas was responsible for currently holding the hostages.
Representatives from the Islamic world celebrated the resolution’s passage, with Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour telling reporters after the vote: “It is our collective duty to continue on this path until we see an end to this aggression against our people, to see this war stopping against our people. It is our duty to save lives.”
UN Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan opposed both the US and Austria’s amendments.
“[People] become very angry, and they do to others what was done to them,” Akram stated, asserting that Israel had denied the Palestinians “freedom and dignity” and had kept them in an “open-air prison.”
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan strongly argued against the resolution, contending that a cease-fire would lead to “the survival of genocidal terrorists committed to the annihilation of Israel and Jews,” and “a death sentence for countless more Israelis and Gazans.”
