UN calls for immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

A UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and the Hamas terror organization was passed by an overwhelming majority of the United Nations Security Council on Friday, just hours before Israeli ground troops entered the Gaza Strip.

In its first response to the war almost three weeks after its outbreak, the United Nations demanded a “humanitarian truce” which would eventually lead to a cessation of hostilities.

The nonbinding resolution further called for the release of all captured civilians (but without mentioning who is holding them), the protection of civilians and international institutions, and a safe passage of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

The passage of the resolution shows that despite the strong support for Israel by Western allies, the sympathies of many third-world or non-western governments remain with the Palestinians.

In addition, countries that so far showed strong support for Israel either voted for the resolution, like France, or abstained, like Germany.

The French Ambassador to the UN, Nicolas De Riviere, explained his decision by saying “nothing could justify the suffering of civilians,” calling for more efforts to establish a humanitarian truce.

The 193 members adopted the Jordanian proposal by a vote of 120-14, with 45 abstentions.

Apart from Israel, 13 countries voted “no,” including the U.S., Austria, Croatia, Czechia and Hungary, in addition to five Pacific Island nations, Paraguay and Guatemala.

Notable abstentions included Germany, Australia, India and the United Kingdom.

The German Foreign Ministry explained its abstention: “Because the resolution doesn’t call the Hamas-terror by its name, doesn’t demand the release of all hostages and doesn’t strengthen Israel’s right to self-defense, we together with many of our partners decided to abstain from the UN General Assembly-resolution.”

The signatory countries of the Abraham Accords, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, all voted for the resolution.

Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said the UN General Assembly was “more courageous, more principled” than the security council, which in four attempts during the war so far failed to reach an agreement on a resolution.

On the other hand, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan blasted the resolution.

“Today is a day that will go down in infamy. We have all witnessed that the United Nations no longer holds even one ounce of legitimacy or relevance,” Erdan said.

“Israel categorically rejects the General Assembly resolution passed this afternoon that does not even name Hamas – not once! As if this war started on its own! Even when discussing our hostages, the drafters could not even bring themselves to name the Hamas terrorists responsible for this blatant war crime. Israel will continue to defend itself. Israel will do what must be done to eradicate Hamas’ capabilities and bring the hostages home.”