2023-10-28 14:41:49
The paper achieved a necessary two-thirds majority in New York on Friday. 120 countries voted in favor, 14 once morest, and 45 abstained. Austria voted once morest the text, according to the Foreign Ministry. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called for an end to Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.
What is in the text?
The resolution, among other things, condemns all violence once morest Israeli and Palestinian civilians, calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians “illegally detained,” and calls for unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip. The text also calls for an “immediate permanent and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire” that should lead to a “cessation of hostilities.” UN General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but are considered symbolic. The more powerful UN Security Council, whose resolutions are binding, had previously failed several times to pass a resolution with a humanitarian focus on the situation in the Gaza Strip.
How did Austria vote?
Austria voted once morest the draft. “A resolution in the UN General Assembly that is not even able to name the terrorist organization Hamas cannot be supported by Austria,” said a statement from the Foreign Ministry on Friday evening. “Nor can we support a resolution that does not grant Israel the right to self-defense in the face of terror guaranteed under international law. As a result, Austria voted once morest this resolution in the UN General Assembly.”
Canada had previously introduced an amendment to the resolution condemning the “terrorist attacks by Hamas” and the hostage-taking and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages. However, this addition failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority.
How did Israel react?
Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen strongly condemned the resolution. “We firmly reject the UN General Assembly’s despicable call for a ceasefire,” Cohen wrote on Platform X on Saturday night. “Israel intends to eliminate Hamas.” This is how the world dealt with the Nazis and the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS), he continued.
Video: Foreign policy expert Peter Fritz analyzes the extent to which the UN resolution for a “humanitarian ceasefire” is putting Israel under pressure.
Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, criticized Germany’s abstention in the vote in the UN General Assembly. Germany’s support is needed in the United Nations, he said at the state party conference of the North Rhine-Westphalia CDU in Hürth. “A vote to abstain because you cannot directly say that Hamas is responsible for this horrific massacre is not enough.” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni justified her country’s abstention by saying it was aimed at stopping the escalation of the war between Hamas and Israel.
What did Hamas say?
The Islamist organization Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip and is responsible for the major attack on Israel on October 7th, praised the adoption of the resolution and called on the UN to take measures to implement it.
What happened before that?
The meeting of the UN General Assembly was also called because the UN Security Council had not yet been able to agree on a resolution with a humanitarian focus. It was only on Wednesday that two draft resolutions failed once more in the committee. Malta then announced that the ten non-permanent members of the UN Security Council wanted to submit their own resolution.
What is Turkey’s position?
“Israel must immediately end this state of madness and stop its attacks,” Turkish President Erdogan wrote in a post on the X platform, formerly Twitter. At the same time, Erdogan called for a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Istanbul planned for Saturday. A few days ago, the head of state described the Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, as freedom fighters. Erdogan called for a ceasefire. Hamas is a terrorist organization for the USA, Europe and Israel, but not for Turkey. Ankara maintains contacts with Hamas and says it is trying to free hostages.
1698508168
#Middle #East #Austria #voted #resolution
