UNGA adopts resolution demanding immediate ceasefire in Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Dec 2023 01:36

The UNGA rejects a US amendment to the resolution that would have condemned the Palestinian Resistance's operation on October 7.

A general view shows a screen of votes during a United Nations General Assembly meeting to vote on a non-binding resolution demanding "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza at UN headquarters in New York on December 12, 2023. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a non-binding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

A total of 153 countries voted in favor of the resolution proposed by Egypt and Mauritania, while 10 members, including the United States and the Israeli occupation, voted against the measure and 23 abstained.

The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations Riyad Mansour considered that the vote marked "a historic day in terms of the powerful message that was sent from the General Assembly."

The resolution "demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" and urges all parties to "comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law."

The #UnitedNations on Tuesday demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in #Gaza in light of the recent Israeli aggression on the Strip after more than three-quarters of the 193-member General Assembly backed the move, which had been vetoed by the United States in the Security… pic.twitter.com/85PLZAcjb3
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 12, 2023

The resolution resembles a UAE-drafted UN Security Council resolution that was vetoed by the United States last week.

The UNGA rejected a US amendment to the resolution that would have condemned Hamas' Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7. The US amendment had sought to condemn what it called "the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas."

"These tragic attempts are a despicable sign of double standards," Egypt's ambassador to the UN Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mahmoud said of Washington's efforts to provide Israel diplomatic cover ahead of the vote in the General Assembly.

Pakistan's UN envoy ahead of the vote said that if the assembly adopted the US amendment, it would seek to amend the draft resolution to restore balance and name "Israel" as a perpetrator of mass crimes taking place in Gaza.

"We agree the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire," said Washington's ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield ahead of Tuesday's vote.

"It's the diplomacy that the United States is engaging in on the ground that made that week-long humanitarian pause possible," she claimed.

Thomas-Greenfield urged members to back the amendment to Tuesday's resolution that would have condemned Hamas.

She also called on the Israeli occupation "to avoid mass displacement of civilians in the south of Gaza," but claimed that "Israel" was pursuing "legitimate military objectives."

Ahead of the vote, the Israeli occupation's representative to the UN Gilad Erdan said the resolution was "hypocritical".

"Not only does it fail to condemn Hamas for its crimes against humanity -- it doesn't mention Hamas at all," Erdan said.