Tensions between the United Nations and Israel are increasing. Following Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ words and Tel Aviv’s decision to deny visas to United Nations officials, Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani spoke of “war crimes being committed in the Middle East.” Shamdasani pointed the finger not only at Hamas, but also at the Jewish state: “We are concerned about the collective punishment of the residents of Gaza in response to the cruel attacks by Hamas,” emphasized Shamdasani, also denouncing the use of explosives long range to densely populated areas. And he returns to accuse the Palestinian militiamen of the hostage kidnappings. An accusation that is being made while the dispute has been going on for days in the UN General Assembly in New York, with crossed vetoes from Russia and the USA in the Security Council and with a tough confrontation in the General Assembly, which has been in special session there since Thursday adopted the draft resolution presented by Jordan on behalf of the Arab countries, which focuses on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, ensuring the flow of aid and preventing forced displacement. The text, which has no binding value, received 120 votes in favour, 14 against (including the USA and Israel) and 45 abstentions (including Italy). A two-thirds majority of the 193 countries present and voting was required for adoption; abstentions do not count.
“Today is a day that will go down in history as a disgrace, a dark day for the UN, which no longer has a shred of relevance or legitimacy,” thundered Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan. A resolution that had also been blocked by the US, which had repeatedly reported that the text of the draft did not contain the words “Hamas” and “hostages”. However, the amendment submitted by Canada, with which Ottawa wanted to add a direct condemnation of the militia attack to the text, was rejected, a passage difficult to digest for the Arab front. Despite the majority of 88 countries in favor, the amendment was not adopted because it did not reach two-thirds of the yes votes: 55 voted against and 23 abstained. “Hamas’ goals are determined and heinous. There is no justification for terrorism, we must condemn Hamas’s acts of terror,” the American ambassador to the Glass Palace, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, thundered again during the proceedings, emphasizing that “Hamas has never cared about the safety or well-being of the people They claim to represent, for them Palestinian civilians are human shields.” To return to the words of Shamdasani from Geneva: In the Gaza Strip, “no place is currently safe anymore: people under these circumstances and while they are completely besieged have to be evacuated force raises serious concerns,” he reiterated. The Israeli mission in the Swiss capital has a completely different opinion. Israel makes it clear that despite “the brutality of Hamas and the shield of the United Nations,” international humanitarian law remains the Israeli military’s “point of reference” and that it will “do everything in its power to protect civilians.” A version that, however, does not convince even Ankara, which is already shying away from calling the Islamic group a terrorist while condemning the massacre of civilians. For Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, this is a “violation of international law” and for him, too, the raids in the Gaza Strip are “crimes against humanity”. And doubts also arise on the Old Continent when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez responds that “it is legitimate to ask this question” to those who ask him whether there is a possibility that Israel is violating international law. In recent days, Sanchez had expressed solidarity with Guterres and his statement about “attacks that did not come from nowhere”.
US and Israel join 12 others in voting against Gaza ceasefire draft
Fourteen countries voted against the UN General Assembly draft resolution on the ceasefire in Gaza presented by Jordan, namely the United States, Israel, Austria, Croatia, Fiji, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala, Hungary, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Tonga and Papua New Guinea and Paraguay. However, among the 45 abstentions were Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Great Britain, Slovakia and Tunisia.
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