US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks to the General Assembly before a vote in the General Assembly June 13, 2018 in New York. . (photo credit: DON EMMERT / AFP)
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The European Union is expected to back a United States sponsored resolution condemning Hamas violence against Israel that is likely to come to a vote before the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday night, diplomatic sources told The Jerusalem Post.
The resolution calls on the 193 UN member states to condemn “Hamas for repeatedly firing rockets into Israel and for inciting violence, thereby putting civilians at risk.”
It’s unclear if the EU support for the text would be enough to sway the UNGA to support the text which the US tabled on Thursday evening in New York.
The resolution marks the first time that the UNGA has been asked to take a stand against Hamas. It’s part of a new strategy by the US and Israel to combat Palestinian bias at the United Nations, by attempting to amend anti-Israeli texts or submitting resolutions against Palestinian transgressions.
“Every year the UN adopts at least 20 resolutions specifically to condemn Israel,” Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said on Thursday.
“Not a single one of these resolutions or any UNGA resolution at all, has ever included Hamas,” he added.
“The international community has an opportunity to take a moral stance and finally condemn Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization,” the envoy said.
Danon spoke at Thursday’s special General Assembly debate to mark the UN’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
The debate, which extends into Friday, will include votes on six pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel resolutions, including one that calls on Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights and another one that ignores Jewish ties to the Temple Mount.
All the resolutions are expected to pass.
On Thursday, in his speech to the General Assembly, PLO Ambassador Riyad Mansour took issue with Israel’s attack on the UN as biased.
“UN resolutions are not anti-Israeli, they are fully based on international law and the global consensus on the parameters of a solution in conformity of the relevant UN resolutions. At the heart of which is the two state solution for Palestine and Israel,” Mansour said.
He called on the UN to recognize Palestine as a member state and to ensure that Israel was held accountable under international law for its treatment of the Palestinians.
“It is a stark equation as long as the benefits outweigh the costs Israel will continue imposing its illegal occupation and trampling the charter and UN resolutions. Accountability is key to end impunity,” Mansour said.
He also urged the member states to reject the US sponsored resolution against Hamas.
“We urge you to reject the exploitation of the General Assembly for punitive purpose that are detached from the law and deflect attention from the root causes of this conflict and undermine our collective effort for a just peace,” Mansour said.
The US resolution on Hamas “demands that Hamas and other militant actors including Palestinian Islamic Jihad cease all provocative actions and violent activity, including by using airborne incendiary devices.”
It further “condemns the use of resources by Hamas in Gaza to construct military infrastructure, including tunnels to infiltrate Israel and equipment to launch rockets into civilian areas, when such resources could be used to address the critical needs of the civilian population.”
The resolution encourages the reunification of the West Bank and Gaza under the Palestinian Authority. The US text calls on all parties to respect international human rights law.”
It also affirms support for a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians, in accordance with international law, and bearing in mind relevant UN resolutions.”
The resolution makes no mention of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It does not call for the release of the two Israeli civilian captives held hostage in Gaza nor does it ask for the return of the remains of the two soldiers presumed to have been killed in Gaza during the 2014 war.
The Pakistani envoy warned the UNGA that the Hamas resolution was an “attempt to deflect the attention of the international community” and does “nothing to pave the way for peace.”
She added, “we other member states categorically reject this move and by extension this resolution.”
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