Enraged Israeli FM calls UNGA vote 'despicable'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Oct 2023 07:18
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Both the Israeli ambassador to the UN and the occupation's foreign minister have expressed their outrage with a UNGA-approved resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York City, United States, on October 24, 2023. (AFP)

The UN General Assembly's majority vote for a humanitarian truce has been bashed as "despicable" by Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen.

The enraged minister rejected the resolution, saying after it was passed that "Israel intends to eliminate Hamas just as the world dealt with the Nazis and ISIS."

We reject outright the UN General Assembly despicable call for a ceasefire.
Israel intends to eliminate Hamas just as the world dealt with the Nazis and ISIS.
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) October 27, 2023

The occupation's UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, also condemned the Arab-drafted resolution, claiming that "this is a dark day for the UN and for mankind."

Erdan vowed that "Israel" will use "every means" to fight Hamas in the Gaza "terror city."

The UN ambassador also repeated now-debunked disinformation regarding beheaded babies to shame the UNGA, which voted in favor of a humanitarian truce, that Erdan said would tie "Israel's" hands.

Security Council failed to act

Regardless of the continued influx of Israeli propaganda and deliberate misinformation, spread by Israeli officials and supporters, the resolution passed with 120 votes in favor, 45 abstentions, and 14 votes against, including "Israel" and the United States.

The resolution called for a quick humanitarian truce between "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance, as well as aid access to the besieged Gaza Strip and civilian safety.

Drafted by Arab nations, the resolution is not legally binding, but it has political weight as "Israel" ramps up ground operations in Gaza, further endangering civilians in the Gaza Strip.

The General Assembly's vote comes after the Security Council failed to act four times in the previous two weeks, due to US-led obstruction.

After a Canadian-led amendment to the resolution to add a condemnation of Hamas over Operation Al-Aqsa Flood failed to pass, the UNGA broke out into applause. The amendment fell short of the two-thirds majority required, with 88 votes in favor, 55 against, and 23 abstentions. All arab nations voted against it.

Communications blackout in the Strip

The assembly called on the "importance of preventing further destabilization and escalation of violence in the region" warning "all parties to exercise maximum restraint and upon all those with influence on them to work toward this objective."

It also called on the Israeli occupation to backtrack its order for civilians in Gaza to move south on October 12, emphasizing that it "firmly rejects any attempts at the forced transfer of the Palestinian civilian population."

The UNGA also called for "the immediate and unconditional release" of all civilian captives.

During the early hours of Friday, massive regions in the Strip suffered from complete communications blackout, while Gaza's largest communications service provider announced that it had shut down all operations across Gaza after Israeli warplanes destroyed the company's remaining infrastructure. This was followed up with an unprecedented bombardment of the Strip.

Palestinian media outlets reported on Saturday morning that over 100 people were killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes targeting a multi-story residential building that sheltered displaced persons in the al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City.