The vote in the 193-member world body was 153 in favor, 10 against and 23 abstentions, and ambassadors and other diplomats burst into applause as the final numbers were displayed. The United States and Israel were joined in opposing the resolution by just eight countries — Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay.
The resolution (full text at bottom of this piece) makes no mention of Hamas, and the assembly defeated two proposed amendments mentioning the terror group. Hamas sparked the ongoing war in Gaza on October 7, when thousands of its terrorists burst through the Gaza border and launched a shock assault on southern Israel. They rampaged murderously through communities and a massive outdoor music festival, slaughtering 1,200 people, mostly civilians, amid acts of horrific brutality including executions, rapes, burnings and beheadings, and abducted over 240 people to Gaza.
One of the resolutions rejected by the General Assembly, proposed by the United States, would have added a paragraph stating that the assembly “unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas.” The other, proposed by Austria, would have specified a call for the immediate release of hostages “held by Hamas and other groups.”
The Palestinian Authority’s envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said the vote marked “a historic day in terms of the powerful message that was sent from the General Assembly.” READ MORE