ISRAEL is losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza, US president Joe Biden has said just hours before a UN vote saw America increasingly isolated in its refusal to join calls for a ceasefire.
The vote in the 193-member UN General Assembly was 153 in favour, 10 against and 23 abstentions.
The United States and Israel were joined in opposing the resolution by eight countries — Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay. The UK abstained.
The support was higher than for an October 27 resolution that called for a “humanitarian truce” leading to a cessation of hostilities, where the vote was 120-14 with 45 abstentions.
After the United States vetoed a resolution in the Security Council on Friday demanding a humanitarian ceasefire, Arab and Islamic nations called for an emergency session of the General Assembly to vote on a resolution making the same demand.
Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding. But the assembly’s messages “are also very important” and reflect world opinion, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
The General Assembly vote reflects the growing isolation of the United States as it refuses to join demands for a ceasefire.
Biden had noted the direction of travel, saying at a fundraiser event just hours beforehand: “Israel’s security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States.
“It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world supporting them.
“They’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place.”
The US president said he thought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (below) understood, but he was not so sure about the Israeli war cabinet.
Israeli forces are carrying out punishing strikes across Gaza, crushing Palestinians in their homes as the military presses ahead with an offensive that officials say could go on for weeks or months.
Biden said that when he warned Netanyahu of a loss of international support over the bombing, the Israeli leader mentioned that the US had “carpet-bombed Germany” in the Second World War and dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.
“That’s why all these institutions were set up after World War II, to see that it didn’t happen again,” he said.
“Don’t make the same mistakes we made in 9/11. There’s no reason we had to be in a war in Afghanistan. There’s no reason we had to do so many things that we did.”
The resolution which passed the UN General Assembly expresses “grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population,” and it says Palestinians and Israelis must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.
It also demands that all parties comply with international humanitarian law, “notably with regard to the protection of civilians,” and calls for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access.”
The resolution makes no mention of Hamas, whose militants killed about 1200 people and abducted about 240 in the surprise attack inside Israel on October 7 that set off the most recent round of fighting.
One amendment proposed by the United States would have added a paragraph stating that the assembly “unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas”.
A second amendment proposed by Austria would have added that the hostages are “held by Hamas and other groups” and should be released “immediately”.
Both amendments were voted down.
The war has brought unprecedented death and destruction, with much of northern Gaza obliterated, more than 18,000 Palestinians killed according to the Hamas-run health ministry, 70% of them reportedly children and women, and over 80% of the population of 2.3 million pushed from their homes.
