The UN General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to adopt a draft resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the unrestricted flow of aid to the starving population of the territory, and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The resolution was introduced by Spain in coordination with the Palestinian delegation and a bloc of more than 30 nations, including Saudi Arabia.
A total of 149 nations voted in favor of the resolution, and 12 against, including Israel and the US. Nineteen abstained, including India.
The resounding support for the measure came despite lobbying from Israel against what it described as a “politically motivated, counter-productive charade.”
Danny Danon, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, said the resolution “rewards the terrorists responsible for the suffering of our hostages. This is not a peace proposal. It is surrender.”
General Assembly resolutions are nonbinding on member states but they carry significant moral and political weight as a reflection of prevailing global opinion.
The president of the General Assembly, Philemon Yang, opened the session by calling on member states to transform their commitment to international law and justice into “meaningful action on the ground … and end the horrors in Gaza.”
Palestine’s ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, urged the international community to take “requisite actions to end this genocide” and secure the release of the hostages.
He said: “Israel’s blatant contempt for international law and UN resolutions must lead to resolute action, and it has to be done now.
“No arms, no money, no trade to oppress Palestinians, ethnically cleanse them and steal their land. This illegal, immoral situation cannot continue. It has to stop and stop immediately.
“We reject attacks on civilians, whether Palestinians or Israelis. Enough bloodshed, enough suffering.
“The actions you take today to stop the killing, displacement and famine will determine how many more Palestinian children die a horrific death. The actions you take today will determine if Palestinian children ever get a chance at life.”
Speaking of behalf of Gulf Cooperation Council member states, Kuwait’s permanent representative to the UN, Tarek Albanai, accused Israel of committing genocide and using starvation as a weapon of war. He called on the international community to uphold its responsibilities and “end these atrocities.”
The GCC has urged all countries to officially recognize the State of Palestine at a summit that will take place in New York next week on a two-state solution to the wider conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
“It is high time Palestine became a full-fledged member of the UN,” Albanai said. Palestine has held the status of Permanent Observer State at the UN since 2012 but is denied full membership.
The General Assembly vote came a week after the US vetoed a similar resolution in the Security Council, arguing that it would undermine Washington-led negotiations aimed at brokering a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The remaining 14 members of the council members backed the resolution.
Spain’s permanent representative to the UN, Hector Gomez Hernandez, introduced the draft resolution to the General Assembly and called on the international community to send “a robust message with the regard to Gaza.”
The text of the resolution, presented under the Uniting for Peace framework during the resumption of an Emergency Special Session on Palestine, went further than previous resolutions on the issue. It included language that underscored the need for accountability to ensure Israeli compliance with the rule of international law, a provision that drew a sharp rebuke from Israel and concern from the US.
“This is both false and defamatory,” Danon said in a letter to member states this week, in which he described the draft resolution as “immensely flawed and harmful.”
He warned that its undermines hostage negotiations, and criticized its failure to condemn the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage.
The vote on the resolution followed stark warnings from UN agencies that famine is looming in Gaza, which is home to more than 2 million people. Israeli authorities lifted an 11-week humanitarian blockade on the enclave in mid-May but aid deliveries remain sporadic.
The text of the resolution supports a UN-coordinated plan to resume deliveries of humanitarian aid and urges all states to always protect aid workers, UN personnel and medical staff in accordance with the principles of international law.
The resolution, the text of which was seen by Arab News, explicitly states that it “strongly condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare,” and demands that Israel end its blockade on Gaza and “open all border crossings” to ensure aid reaches the Palestinian population “immediately and at scale.”
It calls on UN member states to “individually and collectively take all measures necessary,” consistent with the rule of international law and the UN Charter, to ensure Israeli compliance with its legal obligations. It also reaffirms the UN’s permanent responsibility for the Palestinian question until a two-state solution is achieved.
The vote on Thursday was the fourth on a Gaza ceasefire resolution by the General Assembly since the war in Gaza began in October 2023. The US has vetoed several ceasefire resolutions within the Security Council, even as support in the General Assembly has grown and abstentions from such votes have steadily dropped.
Dorothy Shea, the US envoy to the UN, described the Spanish-backed resolution as “yet another failure of the UN to condemn Hamas.” She said it does nothing to help free the hostages, improve lives of civilians in Gaza or move closer to a ceasefire, and instead sends message to Hamas that it was being rewarded.
“We will not support resolutions that do not call for violent terrorist groups to disarm and leave Gaza, and fail to recognize Israel’s right to defend itself,” Shea said.
“This resolution falsely accuses Israel of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, while at the same time ignoring Gaza Humanitarian Foundation efforts to cut out Hamas and deliver aid consistent with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.”
The vote took place in the run-up to a UN conference next week that aims to revive the international push for a two-state solution, which will be co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.
The US warned that countries who back “anti-Israel actions” in connection with the conference could be seen to be opposing US foreign policy and might face diplomatic consequences.
Despite the US efforts to dissuade support for the Spanish resolution, it gathered wide sponsorship ahead of the vote. Alongside Spain, the initiators included Chile, Egypt, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Malaysia, Norway, Qatar, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkiye and the State of Palestine. Additional sponsors, numbering more than 30, included Brazil, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Pakistan.
Palestinian casualties during the ongoing war in Gaza have surpassed 55,000. Thousands more are believed to be dead under the rubble of countless destroyed buildings. The resolution explicitly condemns the destruction of civilian infrastructure and stresses the importance of protecting humanitarian operations and medical facilities.
It also references Security Council Resolution 2735, adopted a year ago, which outlines a US-backed road map for a phased ceasefire, hostage release, and eventual Israeli withdrawal, but has yet to be implemented.
UN General Assembly overwhelmingly votes for Gaza ceasefire resolution amid US, Israeli opposition
https://arab.news/c8nqz
UN General Assembly overwhelmingly votes for Gaza ceasefire resolution amid US, Israeli opposition
- 149 nations vote in favor, 12 against, including Israel and the US, and 19 abstain, including India
- Experts and human rights workers say hunger is widespread in Gaza
- US describes the result as a reward for Hamas, says it does nothing to relieve the suffering of Gazans or secure release of hostages, and undermines negotiations
EU leaders work into the night to ease Belgian fears of Russian retaliation over a loan to Ukraine
BRUSSELS: European Union leaders worked into the night on Thursday, seeking to reassure Belgium that they would provide guarantees to protect it from Russian retaliation if it backs a massive loan for Ukraine. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile pleaded for a quick decision to keep Ukraine afloat in the new year.
At a summit in Brussels with high stakes for both the EU and Ukraine, leaders of the 27-nation bloc discussed how best to use tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to underwrite a loan to meet Ukraine’s military and financial needs over the next two years.
The bulk of the assets — some 193 billion euros as of September — are held in the Brussels-based financial clearing house Euroclear. Russia’s Central Bank launched a lawsuit against Euroclear last week.
“Give me a parachute and we’ll all jump together,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever told lawmakers ahead of the summit. “If we have confidence in the parachute that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Belgian concerns over Russian pressure
Belgium fears that Russia will strike back and wants the bloc to borrow the money on international markets. It says frozen assets held in other European countries should be thrown into the pot as well, and that its partners should guarantee that Euroclear will have the funds it needs should it come under legal attack.
An estimated 25 billion euros in Russian assets are frozen in banks and financial institutions in other EU countries, including France, Germany and Luxembourg.
The Russian Central Bank’s lawsuit ramped up pressure on Belgium and its EU partners ahead of the summit.
The “reparations loan” plan would see the EU lend 90 billion euros to Ukraine. Countries like the United Kingdom, which said Thursday it is prepared to share the risk, as well as Canada and Norway would help make up any shortfall.
Russia’s claim to the assets would still stand, but the assets would remain locked away at least until the Kremlin ends its war on Ukraine and pays for the massive damage it caused.
In mapping out the loan plan, the European Commission set up safeguards to protect Belgium, but De Wever remained unconvinced and EU envoys were working late on Thursday to address his concerns.
Zelensky describes it as a moral question
Soon after arriving in Brussels, the Ukrainian president sat down with the Belgian prime minister to make his case for freeing up the frozen funds. The war-ravaged country is at risk of bankruptcy and needs new money by spring.
“Ukraine has the right to this money because Russia is destroying us, and to use these assets against these attacks is absolutely just,” Zelensky told a news conference.
In an appeal to Belgian citizens who share their leader’s worries about retaliation, Zelensky said: “One can fear certain legal steps in courts from the Russian Federation, but it’s not as scary as when Russia is at your borders.”
“So while Ukraine is defending Europe, you must help Ukraine,” he said.
Allies maintain support for Ukraine
Whatever method they use, the leaders have pledged to meet most of Ukraine’s needs in 2026 and 2027. The International Monetary Fund estimates that would amount to 137 billion euros .
“We have to find a solution today,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters. EU Council President António Costa, who is chairing the meeting, vowed to keep leaders negotiating until an agreement is reached, even if it takes days.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was a case of sending “either money today or blood tomorrow” to help Ukraine.
If enough countries object, the plan could be blocked. There is no majority support for a plan B of raising the funds on international markets, although that too was being discussed at the summit.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he hopes Belgium’s concerns can be addressed.
“The reactions of the Russian president in recent hours show how necessary this is. In my view, this is indeed the only option. We are basically faced with the choice of using European debt or Russian assets for Ukraine, and my opinion is clear: We must use the Russian assets.”
Hungary and Slovakia oppose a reparations loan. Apart from Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Malta are also undecided.
“I would not like a European Union in war,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who sees himself as a peacemaker. He’s also Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe. “To give money means war.”
Orbán described the loan plan as a “dead end.”
High stakes for the EU
The outcome of the summit has significant ramifications for Europe’s place in negotiations to end the war. The United States wants assurances that the Europeans are intent on supporting Ukraine financially and backing it militarily — even as negotiations to end the war drag on without substantial results.
The loan plan in particular also poses important challenges to the way the bloc goes about its business. Should a two-thirds majority of EU leaders decide to impose the scheme on Belgium, which has most to lose, the impact on decision-making in Europe would be profound.
The EU depends on consensus, and finding voting majorities and avoiding vetoes in the future could become infinitely more complex if one of the EU’s founding members is forced to weather an attack on its interests by its very own partners.
De Wever too must weigh whether the cost of holding out against a majority is worth the hit his government’s credibility would take in Europe.
Whatever is decided, the process does not end at this summit. Legal experts would have to convert any political deal into a workable agreement, and some national parliaments may have to weigh in before the loan money could start flowing to Ukraine.
