The United Nations General Assembly holds a special session to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip. The meeting began today in New York with speeches by Israeli and Palestinian diplomatic representatives. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, showed those present a video of the Hamas attack on October 7.
The Hamas massacre had “nothing” to do with the Palestinians, the Arab-Israeli conflict or the Palestinian issue, Erdan said. “This is not a war with the Palestinians, Israel is at war with the genocidal jihadist terrorist organization Hamas.”
Erdan spoke of the brutal murder of innocent Israeli civilians. He showed the UN General Assembly a video purportedly showing a Hamas attack. “The hypocrisy is unbelievable,” he emphasized.
Iranian Foreign Minister in New York
Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian unexpectedly arrived at the meeting. In total, more than 100 speakers were announced and the meeting could last until tomorrow. At the end of the meeting, a draft resolution presented by Jordan would be voted on.
Given that it calls, among other things, for an immediate ceasefire and contains other points that Israel’s supporters do not support, it is questionable whether the text will be adopted.
But experts also hope that some countries in the Global South may take advantage of the meeting and vote to distance themselves from Israel. UN General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but are considered symbolic.