The United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a draft resolution that was introduced last night by Algeria and Turkey, condemning Israel for excessive use of force in dealing in the past two months with Palestinian demonstrations along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip. The resolution that was approved also called for international protection for the civilian population of the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave. The resolution was approved by a large majority: 120 countries voted in favor – including Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Russia, Turkey and Iran – eight countries voted against – including the United States, Australia, Micronesia, Togo and Nauru – and 45 countries abstained, including Argentina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The United States’ Ambassador to the world body Nikki Haley condemned the UN General Assembly as “totally one-sided,” claiming the resolution does nothing to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but rather is used cynically by U.N. member states for domestic political gains. “The nature of this resolution clearly demonstrates that politics is driving the day. It is totally one-sided. It makes not one mention of Hamas, who routinely initiates violence in Gaza, such one-sided resolutions at the U.N. do nothing to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Everyone recognizes that. But advancing peace is not the goal of this resolution. I suspect even my Turkish friends know that the passage of this resolution won’t change anything, but that it looks good for the people back home to think they’re doing something. That is pure politics,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said.
Ambassador Haley further underscored the fact that Israel left Gaza 13 years ago and asked when the UN would blame the Islamist Hamas organization, which control the Palestinian territory, for the situation in the Gaza Strip instead of holding only Israel responsible. That is why, the American diplomat proposed several revisions to the draft resolution, including a condemnation of Hamas for firing rockets into Israel, inciting violence and the mis-appropriation of civilian resources for the construction of border-crossing-tunnels that are aimed to be used for terror related activities. The American requested amendment received a majority of 62 countries voting in favor, including Finland, Estonia, Sweden, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, France and Norway, as opposed to 58 voting against the amendment, including: Russia, Turkey, South Africa, Jordan, Egypt, South Africa. Nevertheless, the amendment was not incorporated into the final draft resolution that was put to the UN General Assembly because it failed to muster the required two-thirds majority. “Our amendment rightly condemns Hamas as indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israeli civilian communities. It accurately condemns the diversion of aid and resources from civilian needs into military infrastructure, including terror tunnels used to attack Israeli citizens. It justly expresses our grave concerns about damage done to border crossings that are hindering the delivery of desperately needed food and fuel to the people of Gaza. This is a modest amendment that reflects the minimum truth of what is going on in Gaza,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said.
Members of the Israeli mission to the United Nations said they were pleased to see a majority of countries voting in favor of condemning Hamas, noting that the outcome was far better than the vote on Jerusalem in December 2017. The Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem issued a statement saying that Israel appreciated the Trump administration’s steadfast support for Israel at the United Nations and Ambassador Haley’s strong statement exposing the hypocrisy of the UN’s bias against Israel. The statement further read: “The UN’s incessant focus on Israel not only brought shame to the organization, but also drew attention away from so many other pressing issues that demand the attention of the international community,” while asserting that that Hamas was responsible for the terrible situation (in Gaza) and for the loss of life and suffering that has occurred as a result of the violent riots that (Hamas) has instigated over the last few weeks. The Prime Minister’s statement was conveyed to the United Nations General Assembly by Israel’s Ambassador to the world body, Danny Danon, who emphasized that whomever voted for the resolution against Israel, is in effect voting in favor of the internationally recognized terror group, Hamas. “If you support this resolution, you are supporting Hamas.” / ” A vote for this resolution is a vote for Hamas,” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said.
The Palestinian leadership warmly welcomed the resolution passed at the United Nations General Assembly, vowing to “continue to do everything possible in order to protect (its) people (in Gaza).” “We cannot remain silent in the face of the most violent crimes and human rights violations being systematically perpetrated against our people. Nobody would remain silent. And not only that, we will continue to do everything possible in order to protect our people. This is a right to all people. And the Palestinian people should not be the exception,” Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour said.